A Bright, Shining Hope
by Caskett1960
Summary: This is my entry for the 2013/2014 Winter Ficathon. She awoke with a start. The bed beside her was cold, the room still dark save for the soft glow of the streetlight filtering in through the window as it reflected off of the steadily falling snow. I will be using prompts #1 & #3. A carefully planned pregnancy brings hope and joy into the Castle's lives. Rated M for Caskett fluff.
1. Chapter 1--A Pain of Unknown Origin

**Disclaimers: 'Castle' is the property of Andrew W. Marlowe and ABC Studios. I only own the story.**

**Title: A Bright, Shining Hope**

**Summary: An unplanned pregnancy brings hope and joy into the Castle's lives. **

**A/N #1: This is my entry for the 2013/2014 Winter Fic-a-thon. I will be using prompt #1 & prompt #3. It will be M-rated because I have to have my Caskett love.**

**A/N #2: This story will start a little angsty, but I promise that it will not stay that way. Just bear with me for two or three chapters and things will then get better. **

**A/N #3: I realized after reading a couple of earlier stories of mine and doing some math that I have some continuity errors. Everything in this chapter will be correct. **

Chapter 1: A Pain of Unknown Origin

She awoke with a start. The bed beside her was cold, the room still dark save for the soft glow of the streetlight filtering in through the window as it reflected off of the steadily falling snow. The bed was cold, which meant that Castle had been awake for a while. He must've heard Nikki calling his name, Kate thought. She rolled onto her back, rubbing the spot on her stomach, hoping to ease the intense pain as Castle was always able to do.

Rubbing it didn't ease it, neither did Lamaze breathing. Finally, she decided to get out of bed and seek out Castle. She stepped through the bedroom and into his office, where she found him kicked back in his chair with his laptop on his knees, typing away. "Castle?" She called out his name as he swiveled around to face her.

One look at her pale face and he knew. The pain was back. He quickly put his computer down on his desk and reached a hand out to her. She came over and sat down on his lap, wrapping her arms around him, burying her face into his neck as he felt the wetness of her tears on his exposed skin. He knew that the tears weren't only due to the pain that she was in, but also the frustration that so far nobody could figure out why she was in so much pain. She was seeing another doctor later this morning.

The pain had started a few weeks before. She'd been at work when she had been hit by a pain so intense that it made her double over. It hadn't lasted long, but it had been so intense while it had lasted. She didn't give it much thought once it ended. She didn't have any more pains until several days later. This time the pain was more intense and lasted much longer. Now the pains were almost a daily occurrence and they lasted anywhere from half an hour to three hours or longer.

A trip to the ER had revealed nothing and neither had a trip to her OB/GYN. Later in the morning, they were visiting someone called an Internal Medicine Specialist. Kate hadn't had any other symptoms other than the pains, although as Castle held her, he thought that she felt a little warmer than usual. "Do you want me to get you a hot water bottle?"

"No, I'm good," her voice was muffled against his neck.

"Come on, let's go back to bed," he helped her up before getting out of his chair.

"When did it start snowing?" She asked as he took her hand and led her back into their bedroom and under the blankets on the bed. He then slid in after her and pulled her against him.

"I don't know," he took his hand and rubbed slow, gentle circles on the spot on her lower abdomen where she was having the pain. "Shh, relax," he urged her when he felt her stiffen up.

"I don't like being in pain, Castle," she nuzzled his neck.

"I know. Hopefully today we'll find out what's causing the pain."

"What if it's something awful? What do we do then?"

"Hey," he forced her to look at him, "don't start thinking like that. The bad times are over, remember?"

She cuddled back into him, letting his warmth envelope her. He was right. Things had been great for them as a family for the past two years. Senator Bracken was still rotting in prison and the threat of Jerry Tyson and his creepy disciple, Dr. Kelly Neiman, had ended in a fiery explosion almost a year earlier. They were free not to have to look over their shoulders. Life had been very good. Castle had written two more best-sellers, one of them a recounting of their horrible ordeal with Tyson. It was the first true-crime book he'd written and it had made him the darling of the talk show circuit. There was talk of it being made into a movie with Bradley Cooper starring as Tyson, something Kate didn't see, but she never understood how Hollywood casts anybody in roles.

The kids were also growing. Jackson was almost three and Ari would be seven in May. Just as Jack was just like his father, Ari was exactly like her mother, much too serious for her own good. She often acted as a second mother to her boisterous little brother. Castle was fond of telling Kate how much Ari was like Alexis as a child. Kate smiled as she thought about Alexis, who was anxiously trying to have a baby of her own.

She let out a sharp hiss of pain, feeling Castle's fingers still against her. "It's okay," she put her hand over his. "It's just really bad tonight."

"I can get you a pain pill," he offered. "Sometimes they help."

"No, I'm warm and I don't want you to get up," she rested her head against his shoulder. "Tell me a story, Castle."

"What do you want to hear?" He whispered into her hair.

"Tell me about our wedding anniversary in Hawaii."

"As a surprise for his and his wife's seventh anniversary, ruggedly handsome best-selling author Richard Castle took his wife to Hawaii where they'd had their honeymoon. One night in Waikiki, they went for a long romantic walk on the beach. Kate told him that she wanted to follow the moon as far as they could." Kate smiled in the dark at the memory. "They walked until they found this little cove hidden away from everybody. And in that cove, with the sound of the crashing waves all around them, they made love. She told him that it was one of the most beautiful nights of her life."

He looked down and saw that Kate had fallen asleep with a smile on her face, her head still on his shoulder and her hand resting on his chest. He'd give anything to be back on that beach in Hawaii. He had taken her there a few months after Tyson and the mad doctor had died in a fiery car crash on the LIE. He remembered that he and Kate had refused to believe that either of them was dead until they had confirmation via dental records. And even after that, they both had nightmares for months.

Now it looked like they were facing a far more insidious threat. The threat of possible illness. He hated to see Kate in pain and he knew that it was a hell of a lot worse than she let on. Her father had told him that when he'd been in the cabin with her after her shooting, she'd hide herself away so that she could cry in private when the pain got to be too much to handle. There had been times when he knew that Kate locked herself away in the bathroom so that he and the kids didn't hear her. He knew how concerned they all were and also how helpless they all felt. He just hoped and prayed that they'd get an answer today. He figured even if it was bad news, knowing something was better than the not knowing. The not knowing was killing them.

***CCC***

When Kate woke up the next morning, once again Castle's side of the bed was empty, but she could hear the voices of the kids. She got out of bed and went to the bathroom. When she walked into the living room she smiled at the sight of the two kids at the counter, eating breakfast. "Good morning, my babies," Kate kissed first Jack, and then Ari. As usual, Jack squirmed from her kisses. "Good morning, Castle," she walked into the kitchen and kissed Castle.

"Feeling better?" He mouthed the words as she nodded. He handed her a cup of coffee. "I made eggs and bacon. Are you hungry?"

"Starving."

"Well, sit down, and I'll fix you a plate. Then, I'm going to get the kids squared away."

"Castle, I can take Ari to school," she offered as he put a plate in front of her. "I'll drive her to school while you run Jack to Helen's. Then, we'll get ready to go when I get back home."

"Okay," he agreed. "It's icy out there, so be careful."

After breakfast, Kate helped Ari into her coat, hat, mittens and scarf. "Can we play in the snow when I get home from school?" She asked.

"We'll see. Get your backpack."

It was cold in the parking garage when Kate helped Ari into the car. She got behind the wheel and started it to warm it up. Usually, the ride to school was quiet because like her mother, Ari was generally quiet. Kate couldn't believe how much her daughter had changed over the years. When she was small, she talked non-stop like her father. But now she was quiet and introspective much of the time. Kate often found herself wondering what her six-year-old thought about. "Mommy, are you going to die?" The words almost caused Kate to rear-end the vehicle in front of her.

Looking in the rear view mirror, she could see the fear etched all over the little girl's face. Making a quick decision, she pulled to the curb in front of a small café. "Let's get some hot chocolate," Kate said as she turned off the car.

"But, then I'll be late to school. You said that it's always important to be on time," Ari reminded her mother.

"Well, sometimes it's okay to be a little late. Don't worry, I'll talk to your teacher. Come on," Kate opened the back door and assisted her daughter out of the car and into the warmth of the café. She led her over to a corner table where a waitress came over and took their orders. "We'll have hot chocolate."

"Marshmallows or whipped cream?" The woman asked pleasantly.

"Whipped cream," Ari smiled shyly.

"The same," Kate told the waitress. "Would you like to talk about what's on your mind?" She turned her attention to Ari after the waitress walked away.

"I heard gram and Alexis talking," she looked down at her hands, knowing how her mother felt about her listening in on adult conversations. "I couldn't help it. I was coming down to ask for something to drink and I heard them. They stopped talking when they heard me."

"You know that I haven't been feeling very good?" Ari nodded as Kate continued. "Well today, daddy and I are going to go to a very special doctor who is going to find out why I'm not feeling very good. This doctor is going to run a lot of tests so that he can find out what's going on."

"What if you have cancer or something?"

"Ari, you're six years old. How do you know about cancer?"

"Amy's mom had it. She had to have an operation. Amy said that she had to take this medicine that made her really sick."

"Ari, I don't know what's going on, but I can promise you that daddy and I will _never _lie to you. Okay?" Ari nodded solemnly. "Okay. We're going to hope that it's nothing bad. But, if it is, we're going to figure it out." She stopped talking when the waitress reappeared with their hot chocolates. "Thank you," Kate smiled as the waitress left. "Depending on how I feel when you get home from school, we'll go to the park for a little while so that you and Jack can play in the snow."

"We don't have to," Ari was quick to tell her mother. "We can always go tomorrow."

"Ari, if I don't take you, then daddy will take you. Stop worrying so much. You're a little girl. I want you to act like a little girl. You have plenty of time to be a grownup."

When Kate walked back into the loft almost an hour later, she found Castle in the bedroom making their bed. He was shocked to find her in tears. "What happened? Are you in pain again?" He walked over and pulled her into his arms as she sobbed. Through her tears, she choked out the conversation that she'd had with Ari at the coffee shop. "That poor baby must be scared to death."

"She's a child, Castle. She shouldn't be thinking about adult issues. That's what she has us for."

"You assured her the best way that you could. And, you're right. We'll never lie to her. You have to be okay, Kate," he pulled her back into the warmth of his body. "There isn't any other option."

"I guess that we should go," she reluctantly stepped away from him and wiped at her face.

An hour later, Kate and Castle were sitting in the office of Dr. Henderson Adderley. The doctor was in his mid to late 50's, with brown hair graying at the temples and brown eyes hidden behind glasses. "How long have you been having the pain?" He looked at her from behind his desk.

"It started in early September. I was at work one afternoon and it hit me."

"How long did it last the first time?"

"About five or 10 minutes. I didn't get another pain for another week or so."

"But, you've been getting them every day since then?"

"Yes."

"Have they been more intense?"

"Yes."

"How would you describe them on a scale of one to 10?"

"Definitely a 10."

"I see in your patient history that you had open heart surgery nine years ago. Can you tell me about that?"

"I was shot in the chest."

"I see. Have you had any recurring problems since the surgery?"

"No. I was cleared by both my regular doctor and my cardiologist a long time ago. Are you saying that the pain in my _lower _abdomen could be caused by my heart surgery?"

"No, I'm just doing a patient history, Mrs. Castle. Why don't you get changed and we'll get started. Mr. Castle, I'll have to ask you to wait in the waiting area."

"Can I have a second first?"

"I'll be outside while you get changed," the doctor got up and left the room.

"You're going to be okay," Castle stood up and held her to his chest, feeling her trembling against him.

"I hope so, Castle. I'll see you as soon as I can," she reached up and touched his face with her palms before they shared a tender kiss.

After Castle left, Kate changed into the embarrassing paper gown and waited for the doctor, who walked in with his nurse. "I'm going to do an ultrasound first to see if there's any inflammation."

"I had an ultrasound two weeks ago. It didn't show anything," Kate complained as she lay back on the examination table.

"Well, if the pain has intensified, we might be able to see something," he squirted the gel on her stomach as she sucked in her breath from the cold. "Sorry about that."

The doctor ran the transducer over Kate's lower abdomen as she watched the images on the screen. The only other times Kate had ever had an ultrasound was during her pregnancies with the kids and when she was still seeing her cardiologist, only he called it an echocardiogram. Seeing your baby move on a screen was far different than seeing your internal organs. It all looked like blobs to her. She looked back to watch the doctor as he examined the screen. Her job as a detective had taught her to read people and she could tell by the hard set of his eyes and the scrunched up eyebrows that he wasn't pleased with what he was seeing. "What's wrong?"

"It might not be anything—"

"Remind me to invite you to poker games at our house. You have a lousy poker face. What do you see?"

"Right here," he stopped the transducer on an area in her lower right abdomen. "This is one of your ovaries. There is a small mass on it. I'd like to get an MRI to get a much better picture of what's going on."

"Is it cancer?"

"Without a biopsy, it's impossible to tell. More than likely it's a cyst."

"How do you know this?" Kate felt herself beginning to panic.

"I'm basing it on the fact that the growth seems to be fluid-filled. Cancerous tumors are solid. But, we'll get an MRI and see where we go from there."

Kate took a deep breath, watching the doctor and nurse leave the room. She hated MRI's. She'd had several after her shooting. The feeling of claustrophobia overwhelmed her. Later she learned that was in large part due to her PTSD, which hadn't been diagnosed until months after the shooting. She took another deep breath, trying to calm her fears. She hated feeling weak and out of control. Just then the door opened and an orderly entered pushing a wheelchair in front of him. "Mrs. Castle?" She nodded. "I'm here to take you to radiology."

In the waiting room, Castle was texting on his phone when he got a message from Alexis. **'Dad, how's Kate?'**

'**She's having tests. I've been banned to the waiting room. I'll call u as soon as we get home.'**

'**Ok.'**

For some reason, his mind went back to the first time he'd seen Kate after she'd regained consciousness after the shooting. She'd looked so tired, but so alive. He'd been so relieved just to be able to talk to her again. "Whatever happens, Kate, we'll deal with it," he whispered to himself.

"Mr. Castle?" He looked toward the doorway where a young woman was standing. "I'm Ms. Connelly, Dr. Adderley's nurse. He wanted me to let you know that your wife has been taken to radiology for an MRI. You'll be able to see her soon."

"Thank you. How long will it be?"

"An hour, maybe a little longer. I'll come to get you when she's finished."

"Okay, thank you."

Inside of the MRI chamber, Kate was trying to stay calm as she listened to the loud whirring going on over her head. It was taking every ounce of willpower not to jump out of her skin. "We're almost done, Mrs. Castle. Please remain still," the technician's voice sounded above her head.

Suddenly, she heard a loud 'clang,' and she felt herself being slid out of the tube. As soon as it stopped, she didn't even wait for permission to sit up. "The orderly will take you back to the examination room, where you can change back into your clothes. I'll have my nurse get your husband and we'll talk in my office," Dr. Adderley's voice came over a speaker.

Why did that sound ominous? Kate found herself wondering. The orderly walked in with a wheelchair and she got into it. Moments later, she was back in the examination room where she quickly changed into her clothes. She was just finishing when there was a tap on the door. "Come in," she called out.

"Are you decent?" The nurse asked as Kate nodded. "I was told to escort you to the doctor's office."

When she walked into the office, she smiled when she saw Castle already there waiting for her. He got up and walked over, embracing her tightly before kissing her on the forehead. "Are you okay?"

"I am now," she smiled before taking his hand and sitting down in the chair next to him.

They both jumped slightly when the door opened once again and the doctor stepped in, reading from a chart as he made his way to his chair. "I've gone over the results of your MRI. You have an ovarian cyst. Usually these go away on their own after a time."

"How long of a time?" Kate asked.

"It can vary. However, seeing the amount of pain that you've been describing, I think that you should consider a surgical approach."

"When would you want to operate?" Kate asked.

"Hold on," Castle interjected as both Kate and the doctor looked at him. "You said that these cysts go away on their own. If they go away, why would Kate want to subject herself to possibly unnecessary surgery?"

"While these cysts do generally disappear without medical intervention, that's not always the case. Sometimes the cysts increase in size. Right now, Mrs. Castle's only symptom is severe pain. If the cyst gets larger, she could develop nausea and vomiting, also a significant increase in the pain. The surgery is performed laparoscopically on an outpatient basis."

Kate could see that he was scared. "Can we have a few minutes?"

"Of course."

Kate waited until the doctor had left the room. "Castle? Hey, Rick?" She said his name as he finally looked at her. "The pain is bad, Castle. It takes everything that I have not to go somewhere and just scream until it goes away. It's not cancer. It's minor surgery. And best of all, I won't be in pain, anymore."

"I do hate seeing you in pain," he gave her a weak smile.

"It's going to be okay," she moved closer and kissed him. "I promised Ari that we'd take her and Jack to the park after we pick her up from school."

"Are you sure—"

"Castle, I made a promise. Yes, it's cold and snowy, but I made a promise. I'm not going to break it."

"Okay, we'll take the kids to the park," he smiled.

The park was fun. They helped the kids build a small snowman. It was nice to laugh and just have a good time. It was nice not to have to think about tests and surgeon's knives. She could see that playing with the kids lightened Castle up, as well. She hated seeing how scared he was; how worried. She longed to take him home and love that worry and fear out of him. Instead, she was faced with another Castle worrier, her young daughter. "What's wrong, chunky monkey?" She used Ari's nickname.

"Did the doctor make you better?"

"Not yet, but I'll tell you what," she knelt down to Ari's level. "Daddy and I will talk to you about that when we get home. Now, I don't know about you or your brother, but I feel like pizza."

"Me, too," Ari grinned.

Kate sighed as she stood back up. She knew that not only did they need to talk to Ari, but also the rest of the family, as well.

They picked up a pizza before going home to the loft. Kate was taking Jack out of his coat when the pain ripped through her. "Castle, can you help Jack with his things?" She asked, her voice sounding strained.

"Yeah," he knew that she was in pain, but he didn't say anything for fear of upsetting Ari, who was watching her mother carefully.

Kate quickly left the room and went into their ensuite bathroom, closing the door behind her. She slid to the floor as she broke down into tears. Before they'd left the doctor's office earlier, he'd scheduled the surgery for a week from today. She just hoped that she could wait that long. She'd hurt after being shot, but at least she'd had a morphine pump.

In the kitchen, Castle was putting slices of pizza on plates for the kids. "Daddy?" He looked down to find Ariel staring up at him.

"What's wrong, sweetie?"

"Is mommy going to be okay?"

"She's going to be fine. I don't want you to worry. Come on, go sit down and I'll bring you something to drink. How about some apple juice?"

"Are you telling me the truth?"

"Come here," he motioned toward the living room, ignoring Jack's howls of protests from his high chair at the dining room table. "One second, buddy!" He called out as he sat down on the sofa and pulled Ariel down beside him. "Mommy and I will never lie to you, Ariel. Now, next week mommy is going to have an operation." He quickly continued when he saw the look of terror that crossed Ariel's blue-green eyes. "She's going to be okay. She doesn't even have to stay in the hospital. Do you know what would probably make mommy feel so much better right now?" She looked at him. "I know that she's hurting really bad right now, but getting hugs from her baby girl always makes her feel a lot better."

Kate was curled up on the cool tile floor when she heard the bathroom door open. "Castle, I'll be out in a minute."

"Mommy?"

"Ari?" She pulled herself to a sitting position. "Hi, baby girl."

Ari sat down in her mother's lap and threw her arms around her neck, pressing herself tight into Kate's body. "Daddy told me that you have to have an operation. Are you really going to be okay?"

"I'm going to be great. I have to go to the hospital early in the morning, so I won't be here to take you to school. But I should be home when you get home from school. I'm going to be very sore, but I'm going to be okay."

"Who's going to take me to school?"

"Daddy will talk to gram or Alexis. I don't want you to be afraid, okay?" She smiled and felt better when Ari gave her a tentative smile back. "That's my baby girl. I love you so much."

"I love you, too. Are you going to come and eat? Because daddy and Jack will just eat all of the pizza."

"Then we'd better go and eat."

Kate got up and followed her six-year-old out of the room, wondering when her small tiny terror had turned into a mini-adult. She also decided that she loved her husband more than ever for sending her in to comfort Kate because it served to comfort the little girl, as well.

**A/N #4: That's where I'm ending Chapter 1. One more chapter of angst and then things will improve. The rest of the story after Chapter 2 will be fluffy.**

**A/N #5: For the record, I don't see Bradley Cooper playing Tyson either. He was just the first currently popular actor I could think of.**

**I can be found on Twitter Caskett1960.**


	2. Chapter 2--Glimmers of Hope

**Disclaimers: I don't own Castle.**

**Summary: Kate has surgery to remove the cyst as preparations are made for the upcoming holiday season in the Castle household.**

**A/N #1: After this chapter, everything is going to be rainbows, unicorns, and bunnies.**

Chapter 2: Glimmers of Hope

_A week before the surgery_

"Sir?" Kate tapped on the doorframe of Capt. Gates' office. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"What's on your mind, detective?"

"I need to schedule some time off next week. I'm having minor surgery performed next Monday morning and I've been told that I'll need to take two weeks off to recuperate."

"Is everything all right, Kate? Does this have anything to do with the pains that you've been having?"

"I have an ovarian cyst. I'm having laparoscopic surgery to remove it."

"Well, I'm glad to know that it's not anything more serious."

"That makes two of us, sir."

"Fill out the paperwork and I'll approve it."

"Thank you, sir."

She went back to her desk to work on long overdue paperwork. Esposito and Ryan were watching her from their desks. They'd both known her long enough to know that something was going on. Espo got up and sat down in Castle's old chair as Kate looked up at him. "So, when are you going to tell us what's going on?"

She looked at him and then at Ryan. Espo was right. They were as much her family as her father, Martha, and Alexis were. "I have to have surgery next week for removal of an ovarian cyst. It's minor surgery and I'll be out that same day. But I have to take some time off to recuperate."

"But, you're okay?" Esposito asked him as Ryan got up and walked over.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was told that usually they go away on their own, but the doctor isn't sure that's going to happen in this case. So, he wants to remove it."

Just then the elevator doors opened and Jenny Ryan stepped off. Kate smiled as she watched her colleague's wife, who was six months pregnant with their third child. "Hi, sweetheart," she kissed Ryan. "Ready for lunch?"

"Yeah, I am."

"Kate, when are you and Rick going to catch up with me and Kevin?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I had Colleen and you had Ariel. I had Liam and you had Jack. Now here I am about to have baby number three. If our kids are going to grow up together, you need to get with the program."

"I'll pass that along to Castle. For the sake of being exact, what should I be trying to have?"

"Well, you wouldn't be wrong if you decorated the nursery in pink," Jenny grinned as Kate began to laugh.

After they left to go to lunch and Espo returned to his desk, Kate found herself wondering what it would be like to have another baby. Her and Castle hadn't discussed that possibility in a long time. Her pregnancy with Jackson had been rough and she'd learned that she'd almost died after his birth. But her pregnancy and delivery of Ari had been nothing short of magical. She'd give anything to experience that all over again.

That evening they had Jim, Martha, Alexis, and Brian over for dinner. They kept everything light until after they'd put the kids to bed. "It's an ovarian cyst," Kate blurted out, as she sat next to Castle clutching his hand in hers. "That's what's causing the pain."

"Are they sure that it's a cyst?" Alexis asked, her blue eyes wide with fear.

"Yeah, the doctor is sure. He said tumors are solid, this is fluid-filled. Anyway, I'm having laparoscopic surgery early next Monday morning. I'll be home by early in the afternoon, but I need for someone to take Ari to school and pick her up."

"Kate, both kids can stay with me and Brian Sunday night," Alexis offered. "I can take the day off from work. I'll bring them home Monday afternoon."

"Thanks, Alexis. I appreciate it," Kate smiled thinly.

"How are you, kiddo?" Martha asked.

"Scared, but relieved that it isn't anything more serious."

"How long will the surgery take?" Jim finally spoke.

"He said 45 minutes to an hour. Then I have to stay at the hospital for an hour or so to make sure that I'm okay. Then I can come home. I have to take it easy for a couple of weeks, but then I'll be as good as new."

"Why didn't anybody else notice it?" Jim asked.

"The doctor isn't sure. He said that it's possible that it just now became large enough to see on an ultrasound."

"That doesn't make sense. You've been in pain for weeks."

"Dad, I don't understand it either. But I'm going to be okay now."

It had been bad enough seeing the look of fear written all over Castle's face, but now she was seeing that same look on her father's face. She got up from the sofa and walked over to his chair, placing her hands on his shoulders. He finally looked at her and drew her close. "I'll be up there with Rick."

"Dad, you don't—"

"I'll be up there with him, Katie," he repeated in a voice that left no room for argument.

"Okay," she kissed him on the cheek. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"I'll be up there, too," Martha informed Kate as Castle gave her a grateful smile.

"I'm really going to be okay, you know?" For some reason, Kate found herself feeling more than a little annoyed. She hated being fussed over. She'd learned to live with Castle's occasional hovering, but having the rest of her family doing it made her feel like she was suffocating.

"We know, but nobody should have to wait alone in a hospital," Martha told her.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't even thinking about that," she looked at Castle. "Of course Rick should have somebody sitting with him. Excuse me."

"She's scared, but she doesn't want to admit it. We haven't really talked about it much," Castle told the group.

"Well, we should all be going so that you can see to Kate," Martha told the others as they all got up to leave.

"Brian and I will pick Ariel and Jack up around five Sunday afternoon," Alexis kissed her father. "Let me know if you need anything."

"I will, pumpkin. Thank you."

When he walked into their bedroom moments later, he could hear the low moans coming from behind the bathroom door. He found himself wondering how long Kate had been in pain before she'd had to flee. He slowly opened the door and saw her sitting on the floor, her knees pulled to her chest, rocking back and forth. He sat down beside her as she put her head in his lap, continuing to rock. "The floor's cold, Kate. Let me help you into bed."

"If I move, I'm going to puke. Just sit here with me."

"What can I do, Kate? I just want to help you feel better."

"Right now, you're doing exactly what I need. I just want you to sit with me and be quiet."

So they sat for the next hour on the cold tiled floor in silence, Castle rubbing her back as the pain slowly began to ease. Finally she slowly pulled herself up to a sitting position and crawled into his lap, burying her face into his neck as he wrapped his arms tightly around her. "Can I help you into bed now?"

"Um-hmm," she hummed against his neck.

He lay awake watching her sleep a short time later. Tonight was the longest that the pain had lasted. He knew that they had spent an hour on the bathroom floor, and he wasn't sure how long she'd been in pain before that. She opened her eyes and smiled a sleepy smile at him. "I know that it's creepy to watch you sleep, but you're just adorable. Not that you're not adorable when you're awake—"

"Stop rambling, Castle," she sat up against the headboard. "Castle, I want to have another baby," she blurted out.

"Where did this come from?"

"It's just hearing about this cyst, I started wondering if it would affect my ability to have another baby. Plus, Jenny asked me today when you and I were going to catch up with her and Ryan. Would you want to have another baby? I mean, after everything that happened when Jackson was born—"

"I won't admit that the idea doesn't scare me, but I also won't say that I'm not totally opposed to the idea," he grinned at her. "You need to ask the doctor if this surgery will affect you in your fertility."

"Well, I know that I don't want another cesarean, so I want to talk to Dr. Caldwell about having a natural birth if we do get pregnant again."

"How do you feel about getting some practice in?" He reached for her as she smiled a tender smile at him.

_The night before the surgery_

After making love, Castle had his head resting on Kate's abdomen as she raked her fingers through his sweaty hair. He was glad that Alexis and Brian had picked the kids up earlier that afternoon because shortly after they'd left, Kate had been hit by a bout of pain that had lasted for nearly three hours. He'd wanted to take her to the ER, but she'd refused. Instead they'd used hot water bottles, a hot bath, and Ibuprofen until the pain had finally freed her from its grip. Now it was after midnight, but neither of them could sleep.

"We need to get some sleep. I have to be at the hospital by seven," she reminded him.

"Are you scared?" His voice vibrated against her abdomen.

"A little. I want to trust the doctor, but what if he removes this thing and it does end up being cancer?" She asked, barely able to say the word.

"It's going to be okay," he moved back up so that he could pull her close. "He's going to take this thing out and then we'll work on making another Castle baby. Okay?"

"Okay," she smiled, pulling him down for a long kiss. Even after so long together, it still amazed her that she could be so over the moon crazy about him. The romance was still there, as well as the passion and always the most incredible sex. He'd proven to her over and over during the final showdown with Tyson how solid he could be. That final confrontation had reminded her of the early days when he'd shadowed her. There were times when she missed having him with her at the precinct.

The next morning, Kate was being prepped for surgery when Dr. Adderley and the surgeon stepped in. "Mrs. Castle, this is Dr. Lowry. He'll be the one performing the surgery. Do you have any questions before we take you to the OR?"

"Will this affect my ability to have more children?"

"It shouldn't. Even if we have to take the ovary, you can still conceive with just one."

"Are you saying that you might have to take my ovary?"

"Depending on how the cyst is situated, we might not have a choice. That's only as a last resort. I don't want you to worry about that right now."

"Can I have a few words with my husband before I go?"

"You have about five minutes. I'll go and get him."

Kate was trying to calm herself when Castle walked in. "Hey, Castle," she whispered as he walked over and took her hand. "I missed not having my coffee this morning."

"I know. You can have as much as you want when you get home. I can't stay long, so I'll kiss you and see you in a couple of hours. I love you," he kissed her softly.

"I love you, too. I'll see you soon."

Kate didn't remember anything once she was taken to the OR and the IV was started. Her next moments of awareness were the sound of someone calling out her name. "Kate! Can you hear me? I need for you to open your eyes!"

She forced her eyes opened and saw the surgeon standing over her, his mask hanging from his neck. "Am I okay? Did you get it all?"

"We got the cyst and you're going to be just fine. We're going to keep an eye on you for an hour or so and then we'll be releasing you."

Out in the waiting room, Martha and Jim were leafing through magazines while Castle played games on his phone. He looked up when the surgeon walked in. "Mr. Castle?"

"How is Kate?"

"Your wife is doing just fine. I was able to remove the cyst with no difficulty. She's going to be quite sore for a few days, but she should have no more pain. We're going to monitor her blood pressure for a little while, but she should be released in an hour or so."

"When can I see her?"

"In about half an hour, I'll have someone take you back to her."

"Thank you."

Kate didn't see how anybody got any rest in a hospital. They had placed a blood pressure cuff around her arm and it was constantly inflating and deflating. The noise was driving her nuts. Plus, they kept waking her up to ask her if she was in pain. Finally, she'd had enough. "I'm not in pain. If I start having pain, I will let someone know."

"We're sorry, Mrs. Castle," the nurse apologized. "We just don't want the pain to become unmanageable."

'Unmanageable?' Really? She'd been shot in the chest many years ago. She'd had an emergency c-section. Having three holes poked into her stomach didn't even compare to the pain from those two events. Right now, she just felt hazy and wanted to go to sleep. When she opened her eyes again, she found Castle sitting there. "Hey," he smiled. "How do you feel?"

"Sleepy. I want to go home, Castle."

"Soon. The doctor is going to come in and check you over in a little while. Then they'll discharge you."

***CCC***

Dr. Lowry stepped into the room with his nurse a short time later. Castle kissed her on the forehead before stepping out. "Once the anesthesia wears off, you're probably going to start experiencing some discomfort. I have prescribed 800 mg of Ibuprofen for the pain. Make sure you take them on a full stomach. If you experience any discharge or bleeding, get to the ER immediately. I don't want you to do any heavy lifting for the next four weeks."

"What about sex?"

"I would recommend that you refrain from intercourse until I see you in two weeks. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call me. Do you have any other questions?"

"Was it just a cyst?"

"It was a cyst. The lab ran tests. It was negative for any malignancies."

"Thank you, doctor."

"You're very welcome. Let me go and get your discharge papers."

It was quiet when Castle helped Kate into the loft an hour later. He started to lead her toward their bedroom, but she stopped him. "I want to lie on the couch," she told him.

"Okay. I'll go and get your blanket and pillow." He went to the bedroom, returning moments later with a lightweight throw and her favorite pillow. After getting her situated, he straightened up. "Do you want something to drink?"

"Water would be great." She watched him go into the kitchen to fix her some water. "What time is Alexis bringing the kids home?"

"Around four. That way you'll have time to get some rest."

He walked back over with a glass of iced water for her, putting it on a coaster on the coffee table. "Sit with me, Castle," she moved her legs so that he could sit at the end of the couch. She then stretched her legs across his lap.

Kate dozed on and off all afternoon, waking up shortly before Alexis brought the kids back. With Castle's help, she moved from the couch to her recliner. She was so excited to see the kids. She loved being a mom and felt empty when the kids weren't there. She smiled when she heard Alexis' key in the lock and Ari and Jack came running in. "Whoa, guys!" Castle cautioned them when they charged up to Kate's chair. "Mommy's really sore right now."

"Mommy, Alexis helped me make a turkey!" Jack showed Kate a drawing that he'd done. "It's my hand."

"That's great! Would you like for daddy to hang that on the board in the kitchen?" Kate asked as Jack nodded excitedly. "What did you do, Miss Ari?"

"Alexis and I made jewelry. I made a necklace and a bracelet. Mommy, can I get my ears pierced?"

"I'm sorry, Kate. I said something about getting my ears pierced when I was six."

"I'll tell you what," Kate smiled at her daughter. "We'll talk about that in a few days when I'm feeling better. Okay?" Ari nodded.

"I brought you some packets of hot chocolate," Alexis handed the bag to Kate. "I also got some of that chicken soup that you like because dad can't ever get it right."

"Oh, thank you, Alexis," Kate accepted the container of soup gratefully, not realizing until now how hungry she was. "Did the kids eat?"

"Yeah, we went to the deli."

"Mommy, you have to tell Jack that cheesecake isn't dinner."

"It says cheese," Jack protested.

"It's not dinner cheese," Ari argued back.

"Hey, enough," Castle stopped them before their argument escalated into full-scale war.

"Did you have any trouble with them?"

"No, they were great. But they missed you. How do you feel?"

"Tired and sore."

"If you and dad want, I can shop for the stuff to make Thanksgiving dinner," Alexis offered. "That way, you don't have to get out next week and fight the crowds."

"Alexis, that would be great," Kate told her.

"Well, I need to go, but I'll call later to check on you," Alexis kissed Kate on the cheek.

"Thank you, Alexis, for everything."

Later that night, Kate sat on the sofa with a child on either side of her as she read to them. She loved the way that they naturally curled into her, their small bodies smelling of soap and shampoo from their baths. "Hey, I want to ask you guys something," Kate closed the book after she'd finished reading. "How would you feel about having another brother or sister?"

She knew that Jack at two and a half wouldn't have much of an opinion, but she was interested in hearing what Ari had to say about the subject. "We don't have room for another baby, mom."

Kate hadn't given that much thought, but Ari was right. She had the original guest room which had left Martha's old room as a guest room, but now that room was occupied by Jack. That left only Alexis' old room. So, if they had another baby, they'd have no room for guests. "So, if we got a bigger house, would you be okay with a brother or sister?"

"A sister. No more brothers," Ari glared at her little brother.

"Well, I don't get much of a say in that matter."

"Why?"

"Because, God decides what the baby is going to be."

"But, I have a girl's name all picked out."

"Really? What would you name your new baby sister?"

"Hope," Ari stated.

"That's a very nice name. Why would you name her Hope?"

"Because all of the bad stuff is over, so we should have something to hope for."

"Have I told you lately how smart you are?" Kate kissed her on top of her head. "Okay, go and tell daddy that it's time for bed. I can't walk you upstairs for a few days. I want you both to go right to sleep. Good night, Jack," Kate kissed her son, who as usual, wiped the kiss off of his cheek as she laughed. "One day you're going to like girls kissing you."

"If he's anything like me, he'll be the one doing the kissing," Castle came out of his office with Ariel on his back. "Come on, buddy. Time for bed!"

Kate watched as he scooped Jack up in his arms before making his way up the stairs with both kids. If anybody had ever stopped to ask her who was the better parent, she'd tell them that Castle was, hands down. He had a lot more patience than she did sometimes, although she loved both kids very much. She struggled to her feet, knowing that Castle would be upstairs for half an hour or more. She slowly made her way back to their bedroom and into bed. She was just starting to doze off when she heard Castle getting his things out for bed. "You don't have to come to bed, yet. It's still early."

"Does that mean that you don't want me to lie beside you until you go to sleep?"

"No, I'd actually like that."

"I'm going to go and take a shower." Kate moved closer to his side of the bed, trying to get comfortable. Once again she was almost asleep when she felt the bed dip under Castle's weight. "How's the pain?"

"Compared to when I had the cyst, I feel great. Castle, Ari brought something up a little while ago when I was talking to them about having another baby. She said that we don't have any room for another baby."

"So, let's get pregnant and then we'll look for a house. So, were they excited about the idea?"

"Jack didn't say much, but I didn't expect him to. Ari is excited about it as long as we give her a sister. She doesn't want any more brothers. I tried to explain to her that I don't have a lot of control over that, although you do."

"So, if we have another boy, it's my fault?" He teased.

"Uh, the Y chromosome determines sex. So, you'd better start telling your little swimmers that Ari wants a baby sister. Her name is going to be Hope."

"Hope, huh?" Kate nodded. "I like Hope. It sounds . . . hopeful."

**A/N #2: So, there you have it. Ideas for baby Hope have begun. **

**A/N #3: From here on out, everything is going to be light and fluffy, except for one paragraph in Chapter 3. **

**I can be found on Twitter Caskett1960.**


	3. Chapter 3--A Happy Thanksgiving

**Disclaimers: No, I don't own 'Castle' now and never will. **

**Summary: It's Thanksgiving in the extended Castle household.**

**A/N #1: The next few chapters will probably be short, at least by my somewhat rambling standards. While there is going to be a third Castle baby, it's still a few chapters in the future. But, life is all about the journey and this is mine.**

**A/N #2: While everything from here on out is going to be fluffy, there is going to be one paragraph in this chapter which refers back to what happened to Tyson and Dr. Nieman in my Castle universe. **

Chapter 3: A Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving in the Castle household was easily as exciting and busy as Christmas was. Preparations started several days before with the baking of cookies and pies for the family and friends that would drop by during the day. And now that Ari was old enough to help, she threw herself into it wholeheartedly.

The whole apartment smelled wonderfully of a combination of roasting turkey, pumpkin, and spices. Castle was always in charge of the turkey, but Kate took care of everything else. At the moment that consisted of making a homemade pumpkin pie. She had stewed a pumpkin the night before with help from Ari and Jack, who was actually more interested in eating the pumpkin than cooking it. Now, she had put the various spices in small bowls for Ari to add one at a time. She laughed at the sight of her small daughter who was speckled with flour from helping with the pie crust. "Stir it up good," Kate instructed her.

"Hungry," Jack announced, climbing onto one of the barstools. "Mommy, hungry."

"I know, little man. Grams will be here soon with muffins. Go watch the parade with daddy. Spiderman is going to be coming soon."

Jack's eyes lit up. He loved Spiderman. His room was all things having to do with the comic book super-hero. He jumped off of the stool and ran back to join his father in front of the TV. "Nice trick, mom," Ari looked up at her mother. "How did you use to get rid of me?"

"Dora and Sofia the First," Castle chimed in from the living room.

Ari rolled her eyes as her mother laughed. The little girl acted so much older than her years sometimes. After the year that they'd just had, Kate had hoped that she'd start acting her age again. "Let me help you put the pumpkin into the crusts," Kate helped lift the bowl as they poured the mixture into two pie crusts.

"Can we have the bowl?"

"Yeah, go sit at the table with it," Kate reached into the silverware drawer and took out two spoons. "I don't want to hear any fighting."

"Come on, Jack!" Ari called to her brother.

"Hey, what about me?" Castle asked as Kate took out a third spoon. "I know, no fighting."

Kate shook her head as she watched Castle join their children at the dining room table. Sometimes he was easily the biggest kid of the three of them. But he was also her rock and had been for as long as she could remember. She looked toward the front door when it opened and Martha breezed in, carrying her purse on one arm and two boxes of pasties on the other. "Grams!" Ari and Jack greeted her enthusiastically.

"Happy Thanksgiving, my darlings," she planted a kiss on each of their heads before stopping by Richard's chair. "Happy Thanksgiving, Richard."

"Happy Thanksgiving, mother," he kissed her on the cheek before going back to the bowl of pumpkin that he was sharing with the kids.

"Happy Thanksgiving, Katherine," she came into the kitchen, kissing Kate and giving her an affectionate squeeze. "I'll put the muffins here on the counter and then I'll help you out. Have you spoken to your father?"

"I talked to him at seven o'clock this morning. He should be here any time with the dressing so that we can get it into the oven. I also talked to Alexis and they will be here by noon. She said that they have to be at Brian's family's house at five."

"How are you feeling?"

"Really good. I go back to work on Monday."

"So, what do you need for me to do?"

"The last two pies are in the oven as is the turkey. My dad will be here with the dressing, so all we need is to peel potatoes for mashed potatoes. Alexis and Brian are bringing the rolls and corn."

"Well, point me to the potatoes and a peeler," Martha grinned. "I'll take care of the potatoes and you go rest for a bit."

Kate gratefully went to sit down just as her cell phone rang. She smiled when she saw the caller id. "Hi, Lanie."

"Hi, Aunt Lanie," the kids chimed in.

"Hey, girl. Tell my babies that I said 'hey.' We have to make an appearance at Espo's mom's house, but we'll be there around two or so. Do you want us to bring anything?"

"We're going to have plenty of food, Lanie, but the kids won't turn down candy. Neither would I."

"Okay, I'll bring some M&M's," Lanie laughed. "We'll see you in a few hours."

Kate smiled as she disconnected the call. She was so happy for her best friend and Esposito, who finally decided to make things official after years of on again, off again, dating. Espo had proposed to Lanie on a Friday night at the Old Haunt with everybody present. He had even done the whole on one knee bit, much to everybody's surprise. They had yet to set a date, but Kate hoped that it was soon. She knew how much Lanie wanted to start having babies, but she knew that her mother wouldn't want her having a baby until Esposito had put a ring on it, so to speak.

"Grams, can I help?" Ari appeared at her grandmother's side.

"I've got it under control, sweetie. I don't think your mother is ready for you to handle sharp instruments."

"I can be really careful."

"Ari, come in here and watch TV with me!" Kate called out.

"But, I want to help," Ari came into the living room, sounding very much all of her six years at that moment.

"I know, but you're not old enough to handle a potato peeler right now. Why don't we go upstairs and I'll help you get dressed?"

"Okay."

Kate knew that once Ari was dressed in her dress for dinner, she wouldn't think of messing it up. Her daughter was fanatical about her clothes. She'd never seen anything like it in such a young child. She loved dressing up. Ari sat on the edge of her bed as Kate went to the closet and pulled out the dress she'd bought her for Thanksgiving. It was wine colored with a petticoat under it. It tied with a white satin ribbon. They had both fallen in love with it on sight.

Ari quickly removed her pajamas as Kate helped her with the dress. "Wait," Kate told her. "You should put your tights on first," she said, pulling the dress back over her head. "Go get your white tights from your drawer."

After finding the tights, Kate helped her put them on before putting the dress back on over her head. She buttoned it up and tied the ribbon. "I love my dress, mommy," Ari breathed as she looked in her bedroom mirror.

"So do I. Come on, let's do your hair."

Except for trims, Ari's waist-length brown curls had never been cut. Kate placed Ari between her knees and began to expertly French braid her hair into two braids, tying the ends with white ribbons. "It's almost perfect," Ari smiled.

"Almost?"

"If I had pierced ears, it would be perfect," Ari turned to her mother.

"You know, Ari, having pierced ears is a big responsibility. And it hurts, at first."

"I know. Alexis already told me."

"Let me talk to daddy and see what he says. If he says that it's okay, we'll get your ears pierced as one of your Christmas presents. Okay?"

"Thank you, mommy," Ari hugged her mother's neck.

Kate got Jack dressed before going to change clothes herself. Keeping Jack clean was a full-time job. As a boy, he was rough and tumble. He was also hard on clothes. "Please try to stay clean," Kate begged her small son, who grinned at her with his father's familiar grin. "Oh, little man, the girls are going to love you when you go to school."

By noon, dinner was ready to be served, but they decided to wait until about two to give all of their extended family a chance to arrive. So, shortly after two with everybody finally there, the grownups sat at the large dining table, while the kids sat at a smaller table nearby. Along with Ari and Jack were Kevin and Jenny's two children, eight-year-old Colleen and five-year-old Liam. After saying grace, they all began to eat.

Talk at the grownups table quickly turned to the casting of the movie version of Castle's true-crime book about Tyson. "Don't they think that dude from 'The Hangover' is too pretty-boy to play Tyson?" Espo pointed out.

"I think he's trying to toughen his image," Castle said.

"Who do you want playing you in the movie, Castle?" Ryan asked.

"I can see Tom Cruise playing me," Castle answered as Kate started laughing. "What? Too pretty-boy, as Espo puts it?"

"No, too short," Kate chortled. "You're six foot two; Tom Cruise is like 5'10. He'd have to put lifts in his shoes."

Over at the kids' table, Ari's eyes darkened as she listened to her parents. She remembered hearing the name Tyson for as long as she could remember. She'd always known that he was a bad guy, but that was all. That is, until a year and a half before when she'd discovered just how bad of a guy he was. She could still remember the men who had followed her, Jack, and the rest of the family everywhere they went. She still had bad dreams about that day when his car had blown up. She got up from the table and walked over to her father's chair, hoping that they'd talk about something else.

"Hey, sweetie," Castle lifted Ari onto his lap.

"Ariel, that dress is you," Lanie told her as Ariel smiled shyly.

"Thank you. Daddy, can I get my ears pierced?"

"Ari," Kate warned her. "I told you that daddy and I will talk about that_ later_."

"Can we get dessert now?"

"Ariel, some of us are still eating," Castle reminded her.

Kate's heart sank when she realized what Ari was trying to do. "Have you kids finished eating?" She asked as Ari nodded. "Okay. I'll get your plates and get you guys some pie. Please go and sit back down in your chair."

"So, Kate," Espo looked at her. "Who do you see playing Detective Beckett?"

"Javi, I think right now we should change the subject," Kate got up and walked over to the kids table. "That's what my daughter was trying to tell us."

"Chica, she still remembers that?" He whispered. "She was what? Four?"

"Five, but she's also very astute. She doesn't forget anything."

***CCC***

After dinner and dessert was eaten, Brian and Alexis played games with the three older children while Jack took a much needed nap. "Alexis, what if daddy says no?" Ariel looked at her older sister.

"About getting your ears pierced?" Alexis asked as Ariel nodded.

"If he says no, then mommy will say no."

"Ariel, who do you think took me to get mine pierced? It wasn't grams, it was daddy. Now, let's play our game."

"I got my ears pierced when I was a baby," Colleen told her friend.

"Did it hurt?" Ariel wanted to know.

"I don't know. I don't remember." 

"It stings a little," Alexis told her, "but it doesn't hurt that much."

"Does it sting like a shot?"

"Kind of."

"I hate shots," Liam said with a grimace.

"So do I," Ariel told the little boy.

Later that night, Kate and Castle were standing side by side in the bathroom brushing their teeth, their moves perfectly synchronized. "Castle, we need to stop talking about that movie when the kids are around and can hear us. Ari is still traumatized by how things ended that night."

"I'm sorry. Is that what happened today?" Castle asked.

"I think so. I'll try to talk to her about it at another time. Right now, we need to talk about this ear piercing thing. How do you feel about it?"

"I don't have a problem with it. I took Alexis when she was six. As a matter of fact, it was her sixth birthday present. She begged me for months. How do _you _feel about it?"

"I want her to be like her friends, but I think about how it was with me. First it was my ears, and then my belly button—"

"Wait! That crack about the naval ring was true?"

"Uh, yeah," she said as she walked out of the bathroom. "I got rid of it long before you and I started sleeping together. It just became a nuisance. Anyway, I moved from piercings to tattoos."

"Kate, she's six. She's a long way from tattoos."

"You and my dad should have a chat about my wild child phase. He'll tell you horror stories that will have you sending Ari to a convent."

"Is it because you don't want her growing up so fast?" He walked over and pulled her close.

"Rick, she already acts so much older than six. I want her to be a little girl for a while longer."

"Letting her get her ears pierced isn't going to make her age before your eyes. Her friends have pierced ears. Ryan's daughter has pierced ears. Think about how disappointed she's going to be if you tell her no."

"You're such a pushover," she kissed him.

"So are you," he rubbed his nose against hers.

"I am, but right now I want to do something else," she cupped her hand behind his head, pulling him even closer to her.

"What's that?" His words were swallowed by her mouth.

"I want to make a baby."

**A/N #3: I struggled a bit with this chapter. I have to throw myself hints so I can write my own end to the Tyson/Nieman story. **

**A/N #4: The baby is still a few chapters ahead. Christmas fluff is ahead in the next chapter.**

**A/N #5: Thank you to the reviewer who told me it's the Y chromosome that the male contributes. I will correct that mistake. I always get them backwards.**

**I can be found on Twitter Caskett1960.**


	4. Chapter 4 Christmas-Castle Style Pt 1

**Disclaimers: Nope, I don't own 'Castle.'**

**Summary: It's the Christmas season and the frustration over not being pregnant yet begins to wear on Beckett.**

**A/N #1: No M-rated stuff, yet, but there will be some soon.**

Chapter 4: Christmas Castle-Style Part I

"Daddy, why do people make animals talk in books?" Ariel asked her father, who had just come to the end of 'Charlotte's Web.' "Do they think kids are stupid or something?"

"It's just making believe, Ariel. Don't you wish that sometimes the animals at the zoo or in the park could talk to you? Sometimes it's nice not to be so serious."

Watching her mull things over in her mind, Castle wondered when this gorgeous little girl had become so serious. Alexis had also been much too serious, but she'd also had her fun side, too. In the last year, he and Kate had both noticed the change in their daughter. "When is mommy going to get home?" She asked.

"She's wrapping up a case. She won't be home until after you're in bed. Speaking of which, let's get you up there," he got up and picked Ariel up from the sofa, carrying her up to her bedroom, which was a combination of Dora the Explorer and Sofia the First. "So, tomorrow night I promise to pick a book with no talking animals. Okay?" He looked at her after he'd tucked her into bed.

"Okay, daddy," she smiled brightly as she looped her arms around his neck.

"I love you. Sleep tight."

He stepped out of her room and walked next door to Jack's room, replacing the covers on his small son, who was sound asleep under his Spiderman blanket. He then went downstairs to his office and got comfortable in his chair with his laptop balanced on his legs as he worked on his latest book. He was busily typing when he heard the front door open and close. He looked at the clock on his computer and saw that it was after 11. He put his laptop on his desk before getting up and making his way to the living room where Kate was hanging up her coat. "Hey, Castle," she walked over to him, snuggling into his warmth.

"It's late."

"Yeah, we didn't get a confession until late and then I had to do the reports."

"Did you have dinner?"

"Yeah, we ordered in. I'm just going to go take a hot bath and go to bed. How were the kids tonight?"

"Ariel hates 'Charlotte Web,'" he told her.

"She thinks the whole talking animal's thing is stupid. I could've told you that," she walked toward their bedroom with Castle on her heels.

"Kate, Alexis was serious, but Ariel is like a . . . she's like a mini-you. Or the way that you were back when I first met you."

"She's smart, Castle. Maybe too smart. Plus, she's seen much more of real-life than most other kids her age. I think that reflects on how she acts. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Now, the bath tub is calling my name," she walked over and kissed him.

Kate walked into the bathroom and turned on the taps before pouring some bubble bath into the water. She couldn't help feeling frustrated as she undressed. Her period had started that morning, which meant no baby this month. She'd been wishing to feel nauseous or bloated, anything that could signify a baby was on the way. After soaking in the huge tub for half an hour, she got out and dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and a pair of leggings. She then went and crawled into bed next to Castle, cuddling close to him as his arms wrapped around her. "What's wrong?" He whispered into her hair.

"I got my period this morning."

"Kate, it's going to happen. You just have to be patient. We both do."

"I just have a really good feeling this time, Castle. That this time everything is going to be perfect. No craziness with ex-boyfriends or evil ex-Senators."

"I believe that, too, but we just have to wait for it to happen. If you get home early tomorrow, we'll go and pick out our Christmas tree."

The Christmas Season in the Castle household always started with the tradition of picking out the tree. And it had to be the absolute biggest tree that they could find. The first time Kate had seen the loft decorated for Christmas, she still hadn't been in a good place to celebrate the holiday. But the excitement that Castle radiated was contagious. Now that they had children, the holiday took on a whole new meaning. Castle believed wholeheartedly in Santa Claus, and so did the kids. Kate, ever the skeptic, indulged her family.

Ari was especially excited to go to the mall to see Santa. Kate was glad that she was excited to go this year because the year before, the little girl had refused to go anywhere near the jolly fat man. Jack was still so little that Santa scared him. He wouldn't have anything to do with him, but apparently, Ari had a whole list of things to ask for. None of which she would disclose to either parent. Kate knew one of the things she wanted was to get her ears pierced. They were going to do that while at the mall on Saturday.

***CCC***

Decorating always started with the train. Castle remembered when he'd brought the train out the year before; Jack's eyes had lit up at the sight of it. With his long-time housekeeper Alicia's help, they began decorating the loft for Christmas while Ariel was at school, both of them trying desperately to keep Jack out of the way. The last thing they did was rearrange furniture to make room for the tree.

At 2:15, he bundled Jack into his coat to go pick Ariel up at school. When Ariel got into the car, Jack was babbling excitedly. "Slow down, Jack. Daddy, what is he talking about?"

"Christmas, Sissy. Train."

"Does this mean we're going to get the tree today?" Ariel now was as excited as her little brother.

"Mommy said she will be home by dinnertime. After we eat, we'll go pick out a tree."

"Yay! It's Christmastime!"

Castle laughed as he saw how excited his daughter was about Christmas. It was nice to see that she didn't act like a mini-Beckett in everything. "So, what're you going to ask Santa for?" He asked.

"I haven't decided, yet."

Castle was surprised by that. Since she was old enough to know what she wanted for Christmas and birthdays, Ariel's wish list was almost always several pages long. She would start asking for things months ahead of time and would remind them constantly in case either of them forgot. "How about a big girls' bike? Your old bike is too small."

"Will you teach me to ride it?"

"Of course I will," he smiled.

"I want a purple bike."

"Purple, it is. I'll call Santa personally when we get home."

"You have Santa Claus' phone number?" Jack's eyes got huge in his face.

"Mommy and daddy have _everybody's _phone number," Ariel told her little brother as Castle laughed.

***CCC***

"So, what's going on with you today? You're not your usual cheery self," Lanie told Kate as the two women met for coffee in the morgue.

"PMS," Kate stared into her coffee cup.

"How are my babies?" Lanie asked, referring to Ariel and Jack.

"Great," Kate smiled. "They're both excited about Christmas. We're going to go and pick out a tree after I get home. We're going to take Ari to get her ears pierced Saturday."

"Oh, I bet that she's excited about that."

"Yeah, she is," Kate took a drink of her coffee. "It's nice to see her getting excited about stuff again."

"Is she still having bad dreams?" Lanie asked as Kate nodded.

"Not as often, but she still has them. Castle worries that she's still so serious. I want to talk to her, but I don't even know where to start."

"Weren't you advised by her pediatrician to let her come to you?"

"Yeah, but Lanie, I want my little girl back. I want the little girl who used to laugh and sing and dance around. I want the little girl who would climb into my lap and just cuddle. I miss that."

"You're slowly getting her back, Kate. I see that light coming back into her eyes every time I see her. At least she's willing to leave yours' and Castle's sides now."

"Yeah."

"So, what else is going on?"

"I told you."

"Girl," Lanie looked at her best friend, "don't make me get up and smack you. There's something else on your mind. So, what is it?"

"Castle and I are trying to have another baby," Kate admitted. "I was hoping that it would happen quickly, but so far, nothing has happened."

"Don't worry, it will."

"I hope so."

***CCC***

"So, Team Boys are going to go this way; Team Girls is going to go that way," Castle told his assembled family who were gathered at their usual Christmas tree stand. "Whoever finds the perfect tree gets to put the star on top."

Kate, Ari, and Alexis looked at each other with amused expressions before watching Castle, Brian, and Jackson go the other direction; Jack perched on his daddy's shoulders. "Why is everything with your father a competition?" Kate asked Alexis.

"It's the kid in him," Alexis said as she took one of Ariel's hands and Kate took the other. "We'll just have to make sure that we find the better tree. Come on. I know where all of the good ones are at."

They walked toward the back of the lot, bypassing other Christmas tree shoppers on their quest for the perfect tree. From past Christmases, Kate knew that it had be at least 15 feet tall to accommodate the huge ceilings in the loft.

It was Ari who saw the tree first. Kate and Alexis shook it to make sure it didn't lose a lot of needles. "It's the best tree ever," Ari could barely breathe as she craned her neck up to look at the top of the tree.

"Until next Christmas," Alexis told her little sister. "I used to say that every year."

"What?"

"Every year I'd say that the tree was the best ever, but the next year I'd also find the best tree. Let's text daddy."

It took 15 minutes of searching before the boys located them. "Look at it, daddy. Isn't it the best tree ever?" Ariel's eyes shone with excitement.

"Yeah it is, sweetie. What do you think, Jack?"

Kate smiled as she looked up at her son, who was half-asleep on his father's shoulders. "I think Christmas tree shopping has worn someone out."

"Is he asleep?" Castle asked in amusement.

"Almost," Kate reached up and removed the little boy from his father's shoulder, holding him to her as he put his head on her shoulder.

"Wait here and I'll go get Paul," Castle walked off in search of the owner of the lot.

After making arrangements to deliver the tree the next afternoon, they headed for home. Kate carried Jack up to his room and laid him on his bed before getting his pajamas and dressing him for bed. She brushed his hair from his forehead before putting him under his covers and kneeling down to kiss him on top of his head. She smiled as she watched him roll onto his side and pop his thumb into his mouth.

After leaving Jackson's room, she went downstairs where she saw Ari busily writing at her little table. "What're you doing, my beautiful girl?" Kate brushed Ari's hair off of her shoulders.

"Writing my Christmas list for Santa. Mommy, is it okay to ask for things for other people?"

"Of course. That's actually very sweet. So, what're you asking Santa for?"

"I can't tell you," Ari looked at her sternly. "That will ruin the surprise."

"Okay," Kate laughed. "Are you ready to take a bath?"

"Can I have bubbles?"

"Yes, you can have bubbles. Come on," Kate urged her.

"Wait!" Ari carefully folded her sheet of paper. "I have to put this in my room. You have to promise not to read it."

"I won't read it. Go put it away and then come into mommy and daddy's bathroom." After Ari had gone upstairs, Kate made her way into the office where Castle was texting on his phone. "If you find a folded up sheet of paper in Ari's room tomorrow, don't throw it away and don't read it. It's her list for Santa."

"How are we supposed to know what to get her if we don't read her list?" Castle whispered, ever mindful of small girls suddenly appearing.

"Okay, read it, but act like you didn't."

"That's better," he grinned. "Have you made your list for Santa?"

"Santa already knows what I want," she draped her arms around his neck.

"Hey, I keep talking to my swimmers, but they're not exactly listening."

"Who's going swimming?" Ari asked, interrupting the conversation.

"Don't you ever knock?" Castle asked her.

"You weren't doing anything, daddy," Ariel's blue-green eyes looked at him innocently.

"Come on, Ari. Bath time," Kate directed her daughter toward the bathroom while she fought the urge to start laughing.

Kate turned on the water before putting Ari's hair into a bun on top of her head. "Mommy, do you remember when the car blew up?" Ari asked after Kate had helped her into the bathtub.

"Yeah, I remember," Kate said carefully.

"I wish that you and daddy had been there, but I'm glad that Uncle Javi and Uncle Kevin were there. I always forget to tell them that. But, I'm glad that Jack was with gram."

"So am I, baby. So am I. And, Uncle Javi and Uncle Kevin know that you were glad that they came to get you. It's their job to make sure that people are safe."

"Were you scared?"

"Yeah, I was very scared. I'm glad that they let you go," Kate said, being careful not to say the names of the two vermin who had critically injured Castle and taken Ari. "You do know that you're safe now, don't you?"

"Oh, I know. Nothing bad is ever going to happen again. I put it on my list for Santa."

"What else did you put on your list?"

"I want a pink sparkly dress for dance class. And a purple bike. And new earrings since I'm going to have pierced ears."

"You're not going to be able to wear new earrings for six weeks after you get your ears pierced."

"Am I having a baby sister yet?"

"No, sweetie. Daddy and I are still working on it."

"Why does it take so long?"

"I don't know, sweetie. Believe me; I don't like waiting for your baby sister any more than you do."

"If you put it on your wish list for Santa, he'll give it to you," Ari told her mother.

"Then, I'll make sure I put it on my list."

The next afternoon everybody in the family showed up to start decorating the tree. Castle would order pizzas and then they'd have gingerbread and hot chocolate while decorating the tree. Everybody had their favorite decorations that they'd place on certain areas of the tree. Kate and her dad were putting Johanna's decorations on the tree, laughing over memories of previous Christmases. "So, what have you asked Santa Claus for this year?" Jim Beckett teased his daughter.

"A baby," Kate blushed beet-red as her father laughed.

"Is there something that you want to tell me?"

"Not yet, but hopefully soon."

"What about my grandchildren? What is on their wish lists?" Jim whispered, watching Ari decorating the tree with Alexis and Jack.

"I think Castle's getting Ari a big girls' bike. She's going to love anything that you get her. As for Jack, if it has Spiderman anywhere on it, he's going to be a happy camper."

***CCC***

The mall was crowded with holiday shoppers. Kate held tightly onto Ari's hand while Castle pushed Jack in his stroller. Luckily, they were there early enough so that the line to see Santa wasn't overly long. They only had to stand in line for 15 or 20 minutes before it was Ari's turn. As predicted, Jack wanted nothing to do with Santa. "I'll take him over there while you get video of Ari," Kate told her husband.

Ari stepped shyly up to where Santa Claus was sitting. Kate had dressed her in a red plaid dress and red tights, with white Mary Jane's on her feet. Her hair was hanging down her back in a riot of curls. "Well, hello," Santa greeted her as he carefully lifted her onto his knee. "And what is your name?"

"Ariel."

"That is a beautiful name. Have you been a good girl this year?" He asked as Ari nodded earnestly. "What would you like for Santa to bring you this year?"

"I want a pink sparkly dress for ballet, a purple big girls' bike, earrings, and a baby sister."

"Wow, that's quite a list. I think I can handle all of that."

Castle was watching his daughter while taking video with his cell phone. "Ariel, look at me!" He called out to her.

"Hi, daddy!" She waved at him.

"Well, you keep being a good girl and Santa will bring you what you've asked for."

"Thank you, Santa," he helped her off of his knee as she turned and waved to him. "Daddy, Santa said that he'll bring me a baby sister for Christmas!"

"That's great, but you do know that it takes a while to make a baby?"

"Daddy, Santa is magic. You told me so. If he said that he'll bring me a baby sister, he'll bring me a baby sister. Where's mommy?"

Castle led Ariel back over to her mother, bending down to her. "We need to have a chat later."

"Why?" Kate looked at him in concern.

"Let's just say that our daughter is going to be _extremely _disappointed on Christmas morning when there is no baby sister under the tree."

"Oh. Ari, let's go see about getting your ears pierced," Kate stood up and once again took her daughter's hand. "What did you ask Santa for?"

"A baby sister and a pink sparkly dress and earrings and a purple bike."

"Wow, that's quite a list. Come on."

After going to the kiosk and explaining that they were there to get their daughter's ears pierced, they stood in line and watched as another little girl sat in the chair. Ari's eyes got huge as she watched two women holding strange looking things in their hands stood on either side of the small child as she was cautioned to be still. The loud 'clack' and the sound of the little girl's howls made Ari clap her hands over her ears. "Hey, Ari," Kate knelt down beside her. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to. But, daddy and I know how brave you are."

"Can daddy come in with me?"

"Yeah, daddy can go in with you," Kate smiled up at Castle.

"Is she still going to do it?" One of the ladies asked in a bored tone.

For some reason, her tone put Ari on the defensive. "Yes, I'm _still _going to do it and I'm not going to cry, either," she stated defiantly as she took her father by the hand and pulled him into the kiosk.

Kate bit back a smile as Castle handed her his phone. "Take video."

"Okay. Jack, watch Sissy," Kate told her son.

The two women first wiped Ari's earlobes with alcohol pads before marking her ears with a pen. "You need to hold very still," one of the women cautioned her.

Castle stood in front of the chair and took both of Ari's tiny hands in his. "Castle, kneel down. I can't see Ari."

"Ariel, look at me," Castle told the little girl, whose blue-green eyes were huge. "Just breathe. You're going to be great."

"Okay Ariel, are you ready?" One of the ladies asked. "We're going to do this on the count of three. One . . . two . . . three!" With 'three,' the guns went off as Ariel flinched a little as Castle tightened his grip on her hands. But, true to her word, she didn't cry.

After she was done, she flung herself into her father's arms as he hugged her tightly. "Let me see," he said as she moved back so he could admire the tiny gold studs in her ears. "Very pretty."

That night, after Kate had read to Ari, she was tucking her into her bed. "You were so brave today. I was very proud of you."

"It didn't hurt that bad."

"Ari, I know that you asked Santa for a baby sister, but it doesn't happen that fast. While mommy might have a baby in her tummy, it takes a long time for the baby to be big enough to be born. So, I don't want you to be upset if it doesn't happen right away."

"But it has to happen," Ari's eyes were bright with tears. 

"Sweetie, why is it so important that you have a baby sister this Christmas?"

"Because then you and daddy will be completely happy again. You won't talk about what happened last Christmas when daddy got hurt anymore."

"Oh sweetie, daddy and I are happy. We have you and Jack. Hopefully you'll have a baby sister soon. It's just going to take a while."

"Will she be here by next Christmas?"

"I hope so."

"Okay, then I guess I can wait that long. Thank you for letting me get my ears pierced," she hugged her mother.

"Oh, you're welcome, my beautiful girl. Sleep tight. Sweet dreams," Kate kissed her forehead as she covered her, tucking the blankets around her.

Kate turned on the nightlight on Ari's dresser before leaving the room and pulling the door behind her. It was only then that she let the tears that she'd been holding back fall down her face. What kind of a world was it when your six-year-old was traumatized by a serial killer, perhaps for the rest of her life? Castle had never talked to her about that day the previous December. However, he'd poured all of his fears into his writing, going into explicit detail about what he remembered of that horrible day when he'd picked their daughter up at school. She still thanked God every day that Jack had been with Martha, because Ari and Castle had barely escaped with their lives. She still believed the only reason that Ari had survived was because the mad doctor had developed a shred of a conscience and had literally thrown Ari out of the getaway car moments before it exploded on the LIE.

**A/N #2: I know I said it would be fluffy, and it will be. But I don't write 100 percent fluff, regardless of what I've promised. It's just not my style.**

**A/N #3: The next two chapters will contain M-rated fluff. **

**I can be found on Twitter Caskett1960.**


	5. Chapter 5--Christmas-Castle Style Pt 2

**Disclaimers: I don't own anything.**

**Summary: Christmas Eve and Christmas morning in the Castle household. This chapter will be M-rated.**

**A/N #1: One of my reviewers asked if I was going to write about what happened to Tyson, Dr. Nieman, Castle and Ari. While I don't know if I'm going to write a future story about it, I will probably disclose what happened in future chapters of this story.**

**A/N #2: I'm going to show the emotions that the boys went through the year before, especially Espo, who keeps his feelings close to his chest, much like Beckett.**

Chapter 5: Christmas—Castle Style Pt. 2

_Christmas Eve_

The Christmas Eve tradition in Rick Castle's life since he was a little boy was gifts were opened on Christmas Eve and stockings were saved for Christmas morning. He had continued this tradition with Alexis and now with Kate and their children. Everybody gathered together for a dinner of turkey and all of the fixings, followed by the unwrapping of gifts.

Kate and Castle laughed while they watched the two children tear through miles of colorful wrapping paper, shrieking with joy over every new treasure they uncovered. "Be careful with the paper," Kate cautioned, watching Ari toss wrapping paper to one side. "We don't want to lose anything in the paper."

"No, we don't," Castle agreed. "Just ask Alexis about that one."

"Oh, Katie knows all about that, too," Jim Beckett smiled at his daughter.

"What did you lose, Kate? I lost a gold tennis bracelet."

"Earrings. I thought my mom was going to kill me. We sifted through the trash for hours and never did find them."

"Look, mommy!" Ari stood up, holding a pink dress in front of her. "Santa brought me my pink sparkly dress!"

"That's pretty, sweetie. Do you want to wear it tomorrow when Uncle Javi and Uncle Kevin come over?"

"Uh-huh."

"What have you got there, buddy?" Castle moved over next to Jack, who was trying to open one of his gifts.

"Spiderman. Open it, daddy."

"You can each open up one toy because it's getting late, and if you don't go to sleep, Santa won't come to fill your stockings."

"I don't get it," Ari looked at her parents. "Why does he come early just to leave our presents but he doesn't fill our stockings until after midnight?"

"Well, he's a busy guy," Castle told his daughter. "He has to go millions of miles before morning."

"But why does he stop here first? You told me that he _always _stops at our house first. Why?"

Castle looked at Kate for help, but she only arched her eyebrows at him. "Yeah, why does he always stop here first, Castle?"

"Well, as long as I can remember, Santa's always been a big fan of my books. I give him signed first edition copies and in return, he stops by our house first."

"He even liked your scary book?" Ari asked, ever the skeptic.

"I think it is time to leave milk and cookies out for Santa!" Martha announced, coming to the rescue as Kate gave her a grateful smile.

"I'll get the cookies!" Ari ran toward the kitchen.

"No, me!" Jack chased after her.

"Ari, let him help," Kate told the little girl, who removed a handful of cookies from a platter on the counter.

"You put two cookies on the plate, and I'll put two cookies," Ari gave two cookies to her brother, who ran over to the small table and put her cookies down on it.

Martha then poured a glass of milk and helped the kids put it next to the plate. "Okay guys, time for bed," Kate got up as both kids began to protest. "The sooner that you go to sleep, the sooner Santa will get here. Kiss everybody goodnight and let's go."

Ari walked over to her grandfather and hugged him. "Goodnight, Grandpa Jim. Will you be here tomorrow?"

"Bright and early," Jim smiled at his granddaughter, seeing so much of Katie in this little girl. "Sleep tight."

"Mommy always says that."

"Well, I used to say that to your mommy when she was little."

"Ari, let's go," Kate urged her along. "You still have a room full of people to say goodnight to."

After saying goodnight to her grandmother, Alexis, and Brian, she stopped in front of her father. Castle picked up the little girl and perched her on his knee, rubbing his nose against hers as she giggled. "You are a born interrogator, just like your mommy. I love you."

"I still think that Santa doesn't like your scary book."

"Maybe not, but the big guy and I made a deal a long time ago. That's why he stops here first," he tickled her as she began giggling.

"Come on, Castle. If you get her worked up, I'll never get her to sleep."

"Goodnight, sweet pea."

After Jack had made his rounds, Kate led them up to bed. Jack went to sleep fairly quickly, but Ari was still awake when her mother came back to check on her after the others had left. "Why are you still awake?" Kate stroked her long hair.

"Mommy, do you think that Santa really liked daddy's scary book?"

Kate sighed. Ari always referred to the book about Tyson as 'the scary book.' Since she was old enough to talk, the little girl had known what her father did for a living. She didn't fully understand it, but she knew that he wrote books. "Well, daddy's a good writer, so I'm sure that Santa likes all of his books."

"Are we going to go back to California when they make the movie? Can we go to Disneyland again?"

"I'm sure that we probably will. I want you to stop worrying about the scary book and _go to sleep_."

"Okay."

Castle was sitting in his favorite chair waiting for Kate to return back downstairs after checking on the kids one last time. He'd already poured both of them glasses of wine after first finishing the cookies and milk that the kids had left out. His mind drifted back to a year before. He'd spent the previous Christmas in the hospital, recovering from injuries that he'd suffered a week earlier after Jerry Tyson and his psychotic partner in crime had forced him off of the road and snatched Ariel. He remembered screaming his daughter's name before mercifully passing out.

It had taken three months of rehab before he finally began to feel like himself again. Those three months had been spent writing an outline for his first true crime book. Gina and Paula had been enthusiastic; Kate much less so. Because of his severe injuries and Ariel's trauma, she'd just wanted to put all of it behind them.

He glanced toward the stairs and smiled when he saw Kate coming down the stairs. "It's time for mommy and daddy to have their Christmas Eve tradition," she sat down in his lap and kissed his neck.

"Your dad is going to bring Ariel's and Jack's bikes over early in the morning. I loaned him my key so he can come in without waking everybody up."

"I love it when you talk about my dad and the kids when I'm trying to seduce you," she looked at him with a bemused expression.

"Are they asleep?" He asked, letting his hand creep under her sweater.

"Jack is, Ari's not quite there, yet. She's starting to have a lot of questions, Castle. I don't think that she quite understands why you wrote about what happened."

"I wanted to be her hero, Kate," he whispered. "Like I was for Alexis in Paris. I can still hear her screaming for me when they grabbed her, but there was nothing that I could do."

"She understands that. Come on, let's go take a shower," she stood up and held her hand out to him as he let her pull him to his feet.

She led him into their bathroom and slowly undressed him as he returned the favor. Kate then reached into the shower and turned on the water, adjusting the water until it was the right temperature before leading him into the stall. Standing under the spray, she peppered kisses along his neck and chest before moving back up and gently biting on his lower lip as he opened his mouth to her tongue. He let his hands roam down her naked back down to her ass, which he squeezed as she let out a moan.

She felt the hard, hot length of his arousal pressed between them. She reached her hand down, wrapping it around him as he let out a strangled moan of his own. She slowly stroked him as his breathing became harsh. She slowly pushed him to the back of the shower stall, to the seat that he'd had installed when she was pregnant with Jack and couldn't stand for long periods of time. That seat had served an entirely different purpose since their son's birth. She pushed him down on it and knelt down in front of him. "Kate," he gasped out her name as she took him into her mouth, sucking gently as he wrapped his fingers into her hair. "Oh, shit."

She slowly licked around the head before she took him all the way into her mouth, before pulling almost all of the way off of him. She then repeated the process, as he writhed on the seat and kneaded her scalp. She loved the way that he felt and tasted on her tongue. She knew that he was getting close by listening to his breathing and the way that he kept moaning her name. She reached down and gently squeezed his balls as he let out a harsh cry and emptied himself into her mouth.

Smiling, she stood up as he pulled her astride him, reaching down and rubbing her slick, swollen folds as she let out a low cry. He let his lips travel from her mouth down to her neck, sucking on her pulse point before moving down to take one swollen nipple into his mouth, biting on the sensitive nub as she clutched his shoulders. "Castle," she moaned out his name.

Suddenly he stood up, and turned around, placing her on the seat before he went to his knees in front of her. "Your turn," he grinned up at her, before placing soft kisses on the insides of her thighs. Her breath sped up in anticipation as she felt him place a kiss at the top of her mound before lowering his mouth over her. "You taste so fucking good."

He swirled his tongue over her clit, as she thrust her hips into him. She felt Castle open her legs wider as he sucked and nibbled at her sensitive center. "Fuck, Castle," she cried out, grabbing at his shoulders and tugging him closer. "Please hurry and make me come!"

He slowly entered her with one finger, teasingly moving it in and out. "Is this what you want?" The vibrations sent tremors through her whole body.

"More, Castle. Please?" She panted as he added a second figure, thrusting a little faster. "More! Harder!"

He thrust his fingers up, hitting her g-spot as her moans and cries intensified in volume, making him glad that they were in the shower. "Let go, Kate. Come for me," he sucked her clit into his mouth as he continued thrusting hard with his fingers. He felt her clench around his fingers and heard her long cry of release. He slowed his licking and thrusting to allow her to come down.

She felt boneless when she felt Castle lift her up into his arms. She wrapped her long legs around him, her mouth finding his. "Take me to bed, Castle," she kissed his neck, feeling his arms come around her.

***CCC***

_Christmas Morning_

It was Ariel's excited squeals the next morning that woke Castle and Kate up out of a sound sleep. They hadn't gone to sleep until almost three, having made love after coming to bed following their shower. "What time is it?" Castle mumbled.

"Almost six," Kate picked up her phone.

"Mommy! Daddy! Mommy! Daddy! Unlock your door! Santa brought my purple bike! Santa even brought Jack a Spiderman bike! Mommy! Daddy! Are you awake? Come see!" Ariel jiggled the door handle as Kate buried her head in her pillow.

"Ariel, is Grandpa Jim here?" Castle called out.

"No."

"Do you think he just dropped the bikes off and then left?" Castle whispered to Kate.

"Let me find out," Kate picked up her phone and quickly texted her dad. **'Did u just drop the bikes off and leave? Ari says u aren't here.'**

Moments later she got a reply. **'I'm at the coffee shop down the street. I didn't want to get caught by the kids. Will see u soon.'**

"Mommy! Daddy!"

"Ari, we'll be out in just a minute," Kate called out.

When they stepped out of their bedroom a short time later, they both smiled at Jack, who was riding his new bike around the living room. "Mommy, daddy! Look! My bike has Spiderman on it!"

"That's great, Jack. But we don't ride bikes in the house," Kate told him.

"Can we ride them in the hallway?" Ari asked.

"Maybe in a little while. Grandpa Jim, Gram, Alexis, and Brian will be here soon and we'll open our stockings."

"Mommy, is Uncle Javi and Uncle Kevin coming over today?" Ari asked, as Kate made coffee for herself and Castle.

"They'll be here later this afternoon. You can wear your pink sparkly dress that Santa brought you."

"Is daddy going to make happy face pancakes?"

"Yes, as soon as the stockings are all opened," Kate answered patiently.

Ari folded her arms over her chest before stomping out of the kitchen. "What's wrong, sweet pea?" Castle asked.

"Why is mommy so grumpy?"

Kate looked at Castle, who bit back a grin. "It's just early, sweetie. Let her have her coffee first."

After the rest of the family arrived, stockings were passed out and opened. Everybody took the time to admire everybody's treasures before Castle went into the kitchen to whip up his strawberry happy face pancakes. After breakfast was eaten and the dishes washed, Castle took the kids to the apartment building's rec room so that the kids could ride their new bikes. "How are you doing, kiddo? You look exhausted," Martha hugged Kate.

"Yeah, it was a late night," she smiled. "But, this year is already shaping up to be so much better than last Christmas."

"I agree," Alexis took Brian's hand. "Last year it didn't even feel like Christmas without dad here orchestrating everything."

"Ari's finally starting to talk about it and I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing."

"Well, we know from past experience that talking about it can be healthy. She's not obsessively talking about it, is she?" Alexis asked.

"No, at least not at this stage."

"She'll work through it," Martha said sagely as Kate nodded. "After all, she's part Rodgers and part Beckett, so she's as tough as they come."

"Yes, she is," Kate laughed.

They had visitors coming in and out all afternoon. Friends from the precinct, friends from Black Pawn, even Special Agent Jordan Shaw of the FBI managed to drop by for a while with her husband and now-teenage daughter. It was later that afternoon when Ryan, Jenny, Espo, and Lanie dropped by. They were drinking wine and laughing while the children played upstairs.

"Anyway, Castle and I came out of our bedroom this morning and mini-Castle was zooming around the living room pretending that he was Spiderman on his new bike," Kate recounted Jack riding his new bike around the room.

They all stopped talking when they noticed Ariel standing there, with her hands behind her back, biting her lip and looking very much like Beckett at that moment. "What do you need, sweetie?" Castle asked her.

"I made something for Uncle Javi and Uncle Kevin," Ari handed an envelope to each of them. "Alexis helped me with the spelling."

Kevin opened his envelope first. Inside was a card of a handmade drawing of two men in blue uniforms, obviously him and Esposito with a little girl between them. Each of the men had gold medals hanging around their neck. Glancing at his partner, Kevin knew that Espo was going to lose it when he saw the card. After they'd rescued Ariel that night, Esposito had been as emotional as Ryan had ever seen him.

Tears filled Espo's eyes when he opened his envelope and saw almost the identical drawing that Ariel had made for Ryan. Inside she had written in her childlike scrawl, 'Thank you for saving me. I love you, Ariel.'

"Little Chica," he pulled her close to him, his voice choked up with emotion, "you _never_ have to thank me for doing my job. Do you understand me?" He asked her as she nodded.

"I love you, Uncle Javi," she hugged him tight before going over and hugging Kevin. "I love you, Uncle Kevin."

"I love you too, sweetie," Kevin embraced her tightly.

That night, Castle put the kids to bed because Kate was completely wiped out. She'd fallen asleep on the couch shortly after all of their guests had left. After tucking Jack into his bed, Castle went next door to Ariel's room. "So, did Santa Claus bring you everything you asked for?"

"Almost. But, mommy said my baby sister will take a while. Daddy, why did my card make Uncle Javi upset?"

"He wasn't upset, baby. You know how happy you were that they saved you after that lady threw you out of the car?" He reminded her as she nodded. "Well, Uncle Javi and Uncle Kevin were happy, too, but they were also scared because I got hurt so badly. So they were happy and sad at the same time. Does that make sense?"

"No."

"Mommy told me that when you ran into the hospital, she squeezed you so tight that she heard your bones crack. She said that she thought that she'd hurt you."

"She couldn't stand up, so we both fell on the floor," Ariel remembered. "But, I didn't get to see you for days and days. I wanted to see you, daddy."

"I know, baby," he stroked her cheek. "I dreamed about you and mommy and Jack while I was asleep. Now, I want you to go to sleep and have sweet dreams. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Goodnight, sweetie. Sleep tight. I love you."

"I know," she smiled as he smiled back.

As he left Ariel's room and pulled the door closed, he thanked God every day that Tyson and Nieman had ended things the way that they had. Because if they hadn't, he would have hunted them down and ripped them limb from limb for what they had done to his daughter. He and Kate had fought to keep hers' and Jack's worlds a safe haven. Instead, at age five, Ariel had learned just how cruel the world could be. Writing about it had helped, but writing sometimes wasn't enough.

**A/N #3: And so ends Chapter 5. And we see that Castle is also still battling demons.**

**I can be found on Twitter Caskett1960.**


	6. Chapter 6--Hope on the Horizon

**Disclaimers: Nope, they still aren't mine.**

**Summary: After months of trying, Castle and Beckett get exciting news.**

**A/N #1: It's time to add the start of Baby Hope to the mix. I'm going to fast forward three months to March. **

Chapter 6: Hope on the Horizon

_March_

Kate and Ari were sitting at the dining table working on a school project for St. Patrick's Day. "What's the big deal about St. Patrick's Day, anyway?" Ari asked. "Uncle Kevin said it's just an excuse for a bunch of drunken Irishmen to pee all over the streets."

"Ariel Johanna!" Kate scolded her daughter. "You need to seriously stop quoting your uncles."

"Why would anybody want to pee in the street anyway? Why don't they just look for a bathroom?"

"Ari, let's finish please."

"When is daddy getting home?"

"He has a meeting with Paula and Gina. He'll be home by dinnertime. Come on, Ari. We're almost done. We need another green marker."

"I'll get it," Ari offered. 

"No, I'll get it. You can't reach them."

Kate went into the kitchen to get a marker. She was standing in the kitchen when the room began to spin crazily around her. Ari, still sitting at the dining room table, heard a loud 'thud' coming from the kitchen, but she didn't see her mother. "Mommy?" She called out, getting down from her chair and walking into the kitchen, where she found Kate passed out on the floor, blood trickling underneath her. "Mommy! Mommy, wake up!"

Taking several deep breaths, Ari ran in search of Kate's phone as Jack came running in after hearing her shouts. "Why is mommy asleep on the floor?"

Ari found Kate's cell and slid her finger to unlock it, only to have the password prompt come up. She quickly discarded the cell and grabbed the house phone from its base, looking for her father's cell phone number. All she got was his voice mail. "Daddy, it's Ariel! Mommy fell and I can't wake her up! Please pick up your phone!"

"Call gram or Grandpa Jim," Jack suggested.

"Maybe I should call 9-1-1."

"No!" Jack howled.

Ariel quickly found her grandmother's phone number and hit it. Martha answered on the first ring. "Richard, this is a nice surprise."

"Grams, it's Ariel," Ariel said as she started to cry.

"Ariel sweetheart, what's going on?"

"Grams, mommy fell and I can't wake her up! I don't know what to do! Daddy isn't here! It's just me and Jackson!"

"Ariel, I want you to hang up. I'm going to call 9-1-1 and then I'm going to call Alexis and your daddy. Don't answer the door to anybody but one of us. If the ambulance gets there first, you can open the door to them. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Sweetie, it's going to be okay. Hang up now," Martha instructed before she dialed 9-1-1.

"9-1-1, do you need police, fire, or an ambulance?"

"My granddaughter just called me and told me that her mother suffered a fall in their home. She's home alone with her three-year-old brother and I need an ambulance to be sent there. I'll be on my way as soon as I get off of the phone with you."

"How old is your granddaughter?"

"She's six."

"What is the child's name?"

"Ariel, Ariel Castle."

"What's the address?"

"It's 595 Broome in SoHo. They live in Loft Number One."

"Okay, I've dispatched paramedics. Please call your granddaughter and tell her that help is on the way and that they'll need for her to let them in."

Back at the loft, Kate began stirring. She woke up and stared into the terrified eyes of her small children. "Ooh, my head," she sat up slowly.

"I called grams and she said she was going to call 9-1-1," Ari said.

"I don't need an ambulance, Ari."

"Mommy, your head is bleeding. And grams just called and said that the ambulance is already on the way," Ari said just as the doorbell rang. "Jack, get mommy a towel. I'll be right back."

Ari stood on her tiptoes to unlock the front door. Two paramedics came in, one of them carrying a case in his hands. "You said that your mommy fell?" One of them asked as Ari solemnly nodded. "Where is she?"

"In the kitchen," Ari pointed the way.

"I don't need to go to the hospital!" Kate protested.

"Ma'am, we need to look you over. Did you hit your head when you fell?"

"Yes," Kate removed the towel Jack had brought her. "I think that it stopped bleeding."

"Katherine!" Martha came rushing into the loft as the kids ran up to her. "Ariel, you were very brave. How's your mommy?"

"She woke up. But she keeps saying that she doesn't need to go to the hospital. Is she going to die?"

"No, of course not."

In the kitchen, the fuss was beginning to irritate Kate. Plus she was feeling increasingly nauseous. "I think I'm going to throw up," she said, seconds before she vomited all over the kitchen floor.

"You might have a mild concussion. I think you should be taken in for observation," one of the paramedics told Kate.

"Martha, have you reached Rick?"

"I left a message, but he hasn't returned it, yet."

"Can you stay with the kids?"

"Of course."

"Can I at least go downstairs under my own power?" She looked at the two paramedics.

"As long as you stop fighting us," one of them answered. "Let's get you to your feet."

Between the two of them, they managed to get Kate upright. She felt wobbly and incredibly weak. She looked at the kids, standing with Martha. Both of them looked terrified. "Hey Ari, Jack. I'm going to be okay. I just got dizzy and fell. Stay with grandma and tell daddy that I'll be at New York Presbyterian," she looked at the paramedics, who nodded. "I'll be home before you know it."

When they got outside to the waiting ambulance, one of the paramedics helped Kate into the back. "You'll have to be strapped to the gurney. Policy says that we have to wheel you in," he looked at Kate apologetically.

"Fine," she said as she lay down on the gurney and was strapped in.

"Your blood pressure is a little low. That might explain why you passed out."

As the ambulance raced toward the hospital, Kate began to suspect that there was another reason for why she passed out. She'd fainted during all three of her previous pregnancies. With Jack, it was almost a daily occurrence for four months. She tried to remember when she'd had her last period. It had been after Valentine's Day. She wasn't due to start for another several days, but she wondered if it had finally happened.

***CCC***

Coming out of his meeting with Paula and Gina, Castle noticed that he had two missed voice messages on his phone. One from the loft and one from his mother. He wondered why Kate was calling from the land line. She usually called from her cell. But, when he listened to the message, he felt his face go completely white and bloodless. He immediately called his mother, who answered on the first ring. "Mother, is Kate all right?"

"Richard, thank god! She's on her way to New York Presbyterian. She'd regained consciousness by the time the ambulance got here, but the children were scared to death."

"Okay, I'm on my way to the hospital. I'll call you as soon as I know anything."

Back at the hospital, a physician's assistant was examining the cut on the back of Kate's head. "You're not going to need stitches, but you're going to have one hell of a headache for a couple of days. So, what do you remember before you passed out?"

"I don't remember anything. I was helping my daughter with a school project and I went to get a marker. I don't remember anything until I woke up." 

"Do you have a history of fainting?"

"Only when I've been pregnant."

"Could you be pregnant now?"

"It's a possibility."

"What is the date of your last period?"

"Around the 17th of February."

"I'll get a urine sample and run a test. Let's get things started."

Castle ran into the hospital, frantically searching for information about Kate. "Sir, she's still being examined by a doctor," the receptionist told him. "If you'll just have a seat over there, I'll let him know that you're here."

In the examining room, Kate was lying on the gurney with a smile that could light up the city. "You're absolutely sure?"

"I ran two tests, and they both came out the same way. You're obviously very happy," he smiled at her.

"Yeah, my husband and I have been trying for months. So, do you know when?"

"Well, it's a little early to be exact. Your regular doctor could probably help you with that, but based on what you've told me, I'd say mid-November."

"Dr. Klein, Mr. Castle is in the waiting room and he's driving us crazy."

"He's a little on the overprotective side," Kate explained.

"I'll go let him know that he can see you. Do you want me to—"

"No, I'll tell him."

"Well, I'll get your discharge orders ready and then you can leave."

"Thank you."

Castle kept watching the double doors carefully every time somebody came out. "Mr. Castle?" Dr. Klein called out as Castle leaped to his feet. "I'm Dr. Klein. Your wife is okay. She suffered a mild concussion when she fell, but other than a headache, she's going to be fine. You can go through the double doors to exam room three."

"Thank you," he practically ran through the doors and down the short hallway into the room where Kate was sitting with her legs over the side of the bed, dressed in the ridiculous hospital gown. "Kate, are you all right?" He ran over and embraced her.

"Déjà vu, Castle," she pulled away and put her hands on the sides of his face. "Do you remember when I passed out at the precinct that time?"

"Oh my god! We're having a baby?" He asked as she smiled and nodded. "Oh, thank god! I thought it was something awful. Ariel sounded so scared on the phone—"

"Ari called you?"

"Yeah, she left a voice message. And then when I didn't answer, she called my mother."

"She did good, huh Castle?" Kate smiled.

"Yeah, she did," he kissed her, softly at first and then more urgently, only breaking apart when they heard someone clearing their throats behind them. They broke apart to find Dr. Klein standing in the doorway. "We're happy."

"Yeah, I know. Mrs. Castle, I've got your aftercare instructions. You'll want to follow up with your regular OB/GYN as soon as possible. Other than that, you're good to go. Congratulations to both of you. Is this your first child?"

"No, we have a six and a half year old daughter and a three-year-old son," Kate told the doctor as she signed the papers.

***CCC***

Back at the loft, Ariel was sitting at the counter, staring at the phone, willing it to ring. "Why doesn't daddy call?" She asked her grandmother for the twentieth time.

"Sweetie, he'll call as soon as he knows anything. Things in a hospital take a long time."

"Will they make me wait days to see her?"

"Ariel, I'm sure that your mother will be home today."

"When those bad people took me when daddy crashed, nobody would let me see my daddy for days. When mommy was here, she cried a lot. I thought my daddy was dead and nobody was telling me."

Martha sighed. Nobody had talked about what had happened that night for months, both for Castle's sake and Ariel's. The little girl had been so traumatized that she didn't speak for more than three days. Then when the book had come out the previous September, it had opened up a lot of those wounds. Under the recommendation of Ariel's pediatrician, they hadn't put her into therapy, instead choosing to answer her questions when they arose, which lately had been often.

Everybody was grateful that Jack had been with Martha that day due to the weather being bad, and Castle not wanting to have both children out in it. She still remembered Kate's frantic call shortly after five o'clock that afternoon.

"_Martha, Castle's had an accident! Tyson ran him off of the road! Martha, they took Ari! They took my baby!"_

"_Katherine, how is Richard? Is he okay? Have they issued an Amber Alert for Ari?"_

"_I don't know. He's in surgery. Martha, it's bad. Call Helen and take Jack to her. You and Alexis need to get up here. God Martha, how could that monster take my baby?"_

"You kids must be hungry," Martha got up and walked into the kitchen. "How about a snack until mommy and daddy get home?"

"Cheese crackers!" Jack chimed.

"I'm not hungry," Ariel jumped off of her barstool and walked over to the front door, sitting down beside it.

Just then, Martha's cell phone rang. "It's your daddy," Martha told them as Ariel jumped back to her feet and ran over. "Hello, Richard. Is Katherine all right?"

"She's fine. We're on our way home right now. Are the kids okay?"

"You might want to talk to Ariel," Martha held the phone out to the little girl, who grabbed it.

"Daddy?"

"Hi, sweet pea. Mommy and I will be home in just a few minutes."

"You promise that mommy's okay?"

"Here, you can ask her yourself," Castle handed his phone to Kate. "It's Ariel. She's a little shaken."

"Ari?"

"Mommy! Are you really okay?"

"I'm fine, sweetie. Daddy and I will be home in about 10 minutes. We have something to tell you and Jack."

When Rick and Kate walked into the loft a few minutes later, both kids ran up to them. Ari hugged Kate tightly around the waist. "Mommy!"

"I'm okay," Kate lifted Ari up into her arms as the little girl wound her arms and legs tightly around her. "Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry that I scared you."

"Katherine, are you all right?" Martha walked over and gave her a warm hug.

"I'm fine," Kate smiled as she made her way over to the couch with Ari still wrapped around her. "We have news. Ari, listen to me," Kate forced Ari to look at her. "Do you want to know why I fainted? I'm having a baby."

"You're having my baby sister? Really?" Ari's eyes got huge as she squealed in excitement.

"Well, I don't know if it's a sister, yet, but we're going to have a new baby by Thanksgiving."

"Are you going to faint a lot?"

"I hope not. I'm very proud of you. You did everything that daddy and I showed you in an emergency."

"I cried a little."

"That's okay, you were still brave," Castle reached out for her as she went into his arms.

Everybody was excited about the new baby, but nobody more so than Ari. That night, Martha put the kids to bed so that Kate could rest. "Are you excited about Hope, Grams?" Ariel asked after they read a book and she was under the covers.

"Who's Hope, sweetie?"

"My new baby sister," Ariel looked at her grandmother as if she'd just grown a second head.

"What're you going to do if the new baby isn't a girl?"

"It's a girl, grams. It can't be a boy. I've been wishing for a little sister for a long time."

"Where did you come up with the name of Hope?"

"Hope means that everybody can be happy. I want mommy and daddy to be completely happy again."

"Sweetie, your mommy and daddy are very happy. Ariel, can I ask you a question?" Martha asked as Ariel nodded. "Do you think that what happened to your daddy was your fault?"

"If I hadn't had ballet, we wouldn't have gone that way. Daddy would've picked me up at school and then we would've come straight home. They wouldn't have found us."

"Your mommy and daddy love you very much. So does Alexis, Brian, and I. I don't want you to blame yourself for what happened that day. Do you hear me?"

"I love you too, grams," Ariel hugged her grandmother.

"Get some sleep. You've had an exciting day."

Kate was nestled in Richard's arms; sound asleep, when Martha descended the stairs. "Richard, can I ask you a question?" She asked as she sat in a nearby chair. "Have you and Kate ever discussed the events of that day with Ariel?"

"We try not to talk about it because it frightens her. All of the doctors and psychologists that we talked to all told us the same thing. To let her come to us. I know that she's still a little tentative around me because she couldn't climb on me or anything for so long. She's six, mother. When you're six, you shouldn't have to deal with adult issues."

"What has you concerned, Martha?" Kate's drowsy voice spoke up.

"She thinks that if she hadn't had ballet that day, Richard would've brought her straight home. That he wouldn't have been on the expressway."

Kate leaned forward and ran her fingers through her hair. While she didn't want Ari to _not _talk about her feelings, she was beginning to feel as if she was obsessing about it. She didn't want to blame Rick for writing the book because she knew that writing was how he dealt with things. Maybe she could seek advice on how to help Ari deal with what had happened that cold, snowy December night.

Later that night, she was lying in bed waiting for Castle to come out of the bathroom. She ran her hands over her still very flat stomach and smiled, imagining the life that she was once again growing inside. Would the baby be a combination of her and Castle like Ari was or would the baby look exactly like Castle as Jack did or would it look like her this time?

Castle stopped in the bathroom doorway, watching her smiling. He knew that she was thinking about the new baby. "I guess that we should start looking for a house so we can get moved before the snow comes in the fall," he got into bed beside her.

"As much as I want for us to have room, I'm going to miss the loft. This has been home for such a long time, both for you and me. It's where you raised Alexis, it's where we made love for the first time," both of their eyes danced at the memory of that May night. "It's where we conceived all of our babies."

"Well, if it wasn't such a long commute, we could always move into the Hamptons house. There's plenty of room there."

"Castle, when you talked to your swimmers, did you encourage the right chromosomes? Because if this baby isn't a girl, a certain little girl in this house is going to be pissed."

"Hey, I put up detours and road closed signs for the boy chromosomes. Your Fallopian Tubes probably resemble downtown Manhattan during gridlock," he kissed her neck as she laughed. "Hey, in all seriousness, I'm so happy right now. Things are going to be great this time. I just know it."

"I feel that way, too," she said as his mouth closed over hers and his hands roamed under her shirt.

**A/N #2: No, I'm not bringing Dr. Burke back. That's getting old. More details will emerge starting with the next chapter.**

**As usual, I can be found on Twitter Caskett1960.**


	7. Chapter 7--Spiderman and Revelations

**Disclaimers: Nope, AWM still hasn't handed the reins over to me.**

**Summary: Castle spends a busy day with Jack as Ari makes a startling revelation about the night she was kidnapped by Tyson and Nieman.**

**A/N #1: A couple of reviewers have asked me to include more of Jack. I'm sorry that he's been overlooked. It's just that I write older kids better than I write pre-schoolers.**

**A/N #2: I have a 4-year-old nephew who was obsessed with all things Spiderman. He insisted that he was Spiderman, right down to trying to climb up walls and shoot spider webs from his wrists. He calls Doc Oc from the comic books Dr. Phil. We don't know why this is, but even after we correct him, he still calls him Dr. Phil.**

**A/N #3: I'm also going to have something in here that shows the bond between siblings, even very young ones.**

Chapter 7: Spiderman and Revelations

_Morning_

"Ari, Jack, come and eat breakfast!" Kate called the two kids to the counter where she'd placed bowls of cereal.

"Mommy, I'm not Jack! I'm Peter Parker!" Jack called back.

"Mom, would you please tell Jack that he's _not _Peter Parker," Ari climbed up on her barstool. "And he's not Spiderman. He keeps trying to shoot spider webs at me."

"Sweetie, he's just pretending. Hey, Peter Parker! Come and eat your cereal!"

Kate laughed as she watched her son run over to the counter and climb up on his barstool. He had received his first Spiderman toy for his second birthday and since then, the superhero was his obsession. He would play with his action figures for hours. He insisted that he'd only wear Spiderman pajamas and his room had to be made up in Spiderman sheets and comforter. He'd had a screaming meltdown when Alicia had accidentally made his bed up in plain sheets.

"See, Sissy. Mommy knows who I really am," Jack told his sister.

Ari rolled her eyes. "You're just a silly boy. Mommy just doesn't want to hurt your feelings," she got down and took her bowl to the sink.

Castle was on his cell phone when Kate came in to get a light jacket for work. "Fine, Gina. Three-thirty. Uh, I'll have to bring both kids. He's not destructive, Gina. He just likes to _climb _things. Why? Because he thinks he's Spiderman," he looked at Kate, who was trying not to laugh. "Come on, Gina! He has an active imagination. I'll see you this afternoon."

"So you have a meeting at Black Pawn this afternoon?" Kate sat down on the bed next to him.

"Yeah, 'Shimmering Heat' is getting ready to come out in paperback. I guess they also want to talk about my next book. Mother and Alexis both have to work, so I'll take the kids with me."

"If I don't catch a case, I can probably leave early," she offered. "Or you can bring them to the precinct."

"Didn't Gates get pissed off the last time I brought Jack to the precinct when he locked himself into an interrogation room and refused to come out?"

"Capt. Gates loves the kids. Yeah, she wasn't happy about that, but she knows how kids are. After all, she raised three of her own."

"I'll just take them with me. I'll load him down with enough toys to make climbing book shelves unappealing."

"I wish you luck with that. I'm taking Ari to school and then I'm off to work. I love you."

"I love you, too," he reached for her wrist, keeping her in place as he placed his hand on her stomach. "You too, Hope."

She kissed him one more time, before getting up and leaving the room. "Ari, kiss daddy bye! We have to go!"

Ariel skipped into the bedroom and threw her arms around her father's neck. "Bye, daddy. Have a good day."

"You too, sweet pea. Hey, we have a meeting at Black Pawn this afternoon, so you know what that means," he made a face at her.

"Daddy," she groaned. "Jack is like taking care of a spider monkey."

"I'm going to take a lot of toys."

"There aren't _enough _toys. We're talking about your son here, daddy," Ariel said, sounding very much like her mother as Castle couldn't help but grin.

"Yes, we are," he kissed her before giving her a swat on the bottom. "You're better go before mommy gets mad."

_Mid-morning_

Castle was sitting at his laptop paying bills while keeping one eye on his small son, who was standing in front of the bookcase in his office, staring toward the ceiling. "James Jackson, don't even think about it."

"Grams lets me," he turned toward his father.

"I'm sure that your grandmother doesn't let you climb bookshelves at her house."

"Play Spiderman with me," he walked over to stand beside his father's desk. "I'll be Spiderman and you can be Dr. Phil."

"The bad guy's name is Doc Oc, Jack. He doesn't look anything like Dr. Phil. He's not bald and he doesn't have a mustache."

"Come on, daddy," Jack tugged on Castle's hand. "I'll be Spiderman and you can be Dr. Phil."

It did no good to keep telling Jack that the bad guy wasn't Dr. Phil. Kate once told Castle that she'd think it was funny if Jack saw Dr. Phil on TV and thought that he was Doc Oc. "Let's go play, buddy," Castle got up and walked out of his office with Jack right behind him.

_Early afternoon_

"What're you and Jack doing?" Kate asked from her desk.

"He just finished lunch and is now playing with his toy soldiers. I'm getting old, Beckett."

"Why do you say that?" She smiled.

"I used to be able to spend hours chasing Alexis around the loft. Even with Ariel, I could chase her around. This morning, after chasing our budding Spiderman for an hour, I felt like I was going to die. I'm old, Beckett," he repeated.

"I've got proof growing inside of me that would disprove that theory," she teased. "He's a very active little boy, Castle. Martha says that he reminds her of another very active little boy."

"Ha-ha."

"Speaking of which, when you take them to Black Pawn this afternoon, take the tablet. That'll keep Ari entertained and maybe she can get him to play games on it with her."

"Okay, will do."

"Also, pack some snacks."

"Gotcha."

"It's going to be fine. The moment that you get home, I will take both of them off of your hands."

"Kate, I like being a stay at home, dad. I'm not complaining about that. I'm just complaining because I'm old."

"I love you and I'll see you later this afternoon."

"I love you, too."

Kate was still smiling when she heard footsteps. "So, how are Castle and the children?" Capt. Gates asked, taking Castle's old chair.

"He has a meeting at Black Pawn later today and he has to take them with him. The last time that he had to leave them in the waiting room while he had a meeting, Jack climbed up a 10-foot bookshelf and broke a couple of vases. Gina then told Castle that our son needed to be on medication."

"When my son was five, he was dared by his eight-year-old brother to swing from the chandelier at his grandmother's house. I learned on that day, Detective Beckett, that boys will be boys. They climb, they play with things that explode, and they do stupid things on dares. They can't help it. It's ingrained in their DNA. Let's hope that baby number three is a girl."

"I'm already way ahead of you in that respect, sir," Kate laughed. The 'boys will be boys' comment reminded her of one of the first things Castle had said to her when they'd first met when she'd commented on his rather lengthy rap sheet.

_Mid-afternoon_

Castle walked into the reception area of Black Pawn Publishing, holding each of the children by a hand. "Hi, Michelle," he greeted the receptionist. "Can you let Gina and Paula know that I'm here?"

"Ms. Cowell, Mr. Castle is here. Okay, I will. She'll be a few minutes, Rick," Michelle informed him after she'd hung up.

"Thank you," he turned to the kids. "Listen to me, both of you. Jack, you have a whole backpack full of toys. You have some snacks. I don't want you climbing on anything. Do you hear me?" Jack looked at his father and nodded. "Ariel, find some games on the tablet and let him play with you. I shouldn't be too long."

"Can we go into the room with your posters?" Jack asked, referring to the covers from Castle's books.

"Can you look at the posters and not climb on anything?" Castle asked as both kids nodded. "Okay, you can go in there. Don't go anywhere else."

"Rick," he looked toward the opened doorway and saw his ex-wife standing there. "You can come back now. Michelle, if you let that child climb on _anything_, you'd better have your resume updated."

"Yes, Ms. Cowell."

"Come on, Jack, let's go look at daddy's book covers," Ariel took her brother by the hand, glaring at Gina as she led her little brother into the next room.

The first thing that Ariel noticed was that the room had been reorganized and updated with her father's latest book covers. "This is how it all started, Jack," she led Jack over to the huge poster for 'In a Hail of Bullets.' They slowly walked around the room, looking at each of the book covers in order.

"Daddy's written a hundred books," Jack looked around in awe. "He's famous."

"He hasn't written a hundred books, Jack. More like 40 or so," Ariel stated wisely.

They continued walking around the room until Jack almost collided with Ariel, who stood frozen in front of the book cover for 'In the Eye of the Beast,' the book that Castle had written recounting the crimes of Jerry Tyson and the decade of terror that he'd put Castle and Beckett through. Jack stared at his older sister, who was starting to breathe funny. "Sissy? Sissy? Don't be scared, Sissy," he put his hand in hers. "It's just one of daddy's covers."

"Let's get out of here, Jack. This room is scary."

They returned to the reception area and sat under a nearby table with the backpack of toys that Castle had packed. Sharing boxes of raisins and juice boxes, they played with Spiderman toys, laughing and giggling while they waited for their father to come out of his meeting. "When I'm older, I'll be able to have spider webs in my arms," Jack told his sister.

"Jack, you're _not _Spiderman," Ariel told Jack once again.

"Duh, not yet."

"Did you just say 'duh?'"

"Sissy, why is daddy's book room scary?"

"It just is. I'm never going in there again."

They looked up when the door opened and Castle stepped out. He knelt down beside the table at the two kids underneath it. "Nice fort," he commented. "Pick your toys up and let's go home. We'll text mommy on the way and see if she's home yet or if she wants to meet us for dinner."

"Daddy, Sissy says that your book room is too scary," Jack informed his father.

"Shut up, Jack!" Ariel shouted at him.

"Ariel, hey. Don't tell your brother to shut up," Castle scolded her. "Tell him you're sorry."

"No, I won't!" She got up and stalked from the room.

"Come on, Jack, we need to catch up with your sister."

Ariel was standing by the elevator when Castle and Jack caught up with her. "Am I going to be in trouble?"

"Oh, I don't know. That's entirely up to you," Castle looked down at her. "You used to love my book cover room."

"That was _before_. Come on, daddy, we need to go home. Jack's probably hungry."

When Kate entered the loft later that afternoon, she could hear the kids screaming and laughing. "Look, mommy's home," Castle walked over with a kid under each arm, giving Kate a kiss.

"I thought that you were getting old," she reminded him.

"I must've gotten my second wind. I was going to call in an order for Chinese food. Are you hungry?"

"Starving," she reached out and took Jack from his grasp. "How did it go at Black Pawn?"

"Great, only Ariel has now decided that my book cover room is off-limits."

"Why?" Kate looked at Ari, who shrugged. She then turned to Jack. "So, you didn't try to destroy the place this time?" She hugged the little boy, who squirmed in her arms.

"Mommy, when am I going to get my spider webs? If I have my spider webs, I can climb outside."

"Jack, you're _not _Spiderman! Spiderman isn't real! You need to grow up!" Ariel struggled from her father's arms and ran up the stairs to her room.

"Okay, what was that all about?" Kate looked at Castle.

"Sissy got really scared by daddy's book room. I told her that it was all right."

"Oh god, Castle, the book covers," Kate's hand flew to her mouth. "Gina must've added the new book covers. Which means—"

"I'll go and talk to her," Castle ruffled Jack's hair. "Go ahead and order us something to eat."

When Castle entered Ariel's immaculate pink and white bedroom, he couldn't find his small daughter anywhere. "Ariel?"

"Go away!" He heard her voice coming from the walk-in closet.

He opened the closet door and looked around until he finally saw Ariel huddled in one corner of the closet. He sat down across from her and waited for her to say something. Her head was resting on her knees, which were drawn up to her chest. "Ariel, do you know why I write books?" He asked as she looked at him.

"No."

"When I was in school I'd get these things stuck in my head and I found out that the only way these things would get out of my head was to write them down. I know that you're only in first grade, but you know a lot of big words—"

"That's because you and mommy use a lot of big words."

"Yes, we do. Would you like to write down what you feel about what happened that night? If you want, I can help you with that."

"I didn't mean what I said to Jack," her lower lip trembled. "He wasn't there, so he doesn't know how scared I was."

"I know you didn't mean to say cruel things to Jack. You're always kind to him, even though he can be a little annoying and he thinks that he's Spiderman. But, he's just a little boy with a very active imagination. Right now, he doesn't know that the world isn't always a nice place. And I wish you didn't know that, either."

"They had a bomb in the car," Ariel told Castle. "The man had a gun and he kept wanting to shoot me. But the lady wouldn't let him. He kept saying that he wanted to make Castle pay. She told him that Castle was going to pay because he was going to die. I started screaming that I wanted my mommy and daddy and he told her to make me shut up. That was when she opened the car door and threw me out in the street."

Castle's eyes filled with tears as he listened to Ariel's recounting of that night. "Come here, baby," he opened his arms as Ariel flew into them, hugging him around the neck as she cried on his shoulder.

"I'll tell Jack that I'm sorry! Please don't be mad at me!"

"I'm not mad at you, baby. I can never be mad at you. I love you, Alexis, Jack, and whatever mommy has wiggling around in her tummy right now. Now, I can help you write down your feelings or you can draw them. However you want to do it."

"Will it help me to forget about what happened? That's all that I want to do."

"Well, it won't help you forget, but it'll help you try to move past it. You're always going to remember it, Ariel. It's part of who you are. Now, I think mommy was ordering us Chinese food. I don't know about you, but I'm hungry."

"Did she order crabmeat Rangoon?"

"I'm sure that she probably did," he smiled.

***CCC***

After ordering enough Chinese food to feed a small army, Kate got down on the floor with Jack, who was playing with his Avengers action figures. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to play on the floor with him in a few months, Kate took advantage of playtime with him now. "Can I play?" She asked the little boy.

"Here, you can play with Ironman and The Hulk," he offered her the two action figures. "I'll take Thor and Captain America."

"What? No Spiderman?" She teased.

"Mom, Spiderman isn't an Avenger," he looked at his mother indulgently.

'So much like your daddy,' she thought to herself. He barely knew his full name, but he knew who the Avengers were. "So, what did you and daddy do today?"

"He was Dr. Phil when we played Spiderman this morning."

"Sweetie, his name is Doc Oc. Come with me for a second," Kate got up and picked up her cell phone and did a web search. "Look, this is Dr. Phil. He doesn't have octopus arms."

"How do you know? They could be under his shirt."

"That would explain why Robin is always so happy."

"What?"

"Never mind."

"Why was Sissy scared in daddy's book room?"

"One of daddy's book covers scares her. It has to do with when daddy hurt his leg."

"Oh."

Kate turned when she heard Castle's footsteps on the stairs. He was coming down the stairs with Ariel on his back, her legs wrapped around him. "Did you order dinner? We're starving."

"It should be here soon."

"Sissy, play Avengers with me."

"Okay," Ariel agreed as Castle swung her off of his back and she ran over to play with her brother.

"Is she okay?" Kate whispered as the doorbell rang.

"We'll talk about it later," he told her before walking to the door.

Later that night, the two of them were relaxing in the bathtub together, Castle's fingers tracing lazy paths down her arms as she rested her head on his chest. "I'm beginning to worry about her, Castle. Can children get PTSD?"

"I'll call their pediatrician in the morning and make an appointment to go in to talk to her. Maybe she can give us some other recommendations. I suggested to Ariel that I can help her write down her feelings or she can draw them out."

"That's actually not a bad idea, Castle. So, they were good when you took them to Black Pawn?"

"They were great. It's a good thing that they were, because Gina threatened to fire Michelle if Jack misbehaved again."

"Have I mentioned how much I detest your ex-wife? Was she ever that awful to Alexis?"

"No, but then, Alexis wasn't a three-year-old boy who can dismantle a room in seconds," he kissed her temple.

"I love your babies, Castle, even though one is a master of disaster and the other is far too serious for her own good."

"What do you think this one will be like?" He placed his hand on her stomach.

"Oh, I don't know," she put her hand over his. "But, whatever it decides to be like, I know that we're going to love it. I love you. You're the most awesome daddy," she kissed him. 

"You're not so bad yourself," he grinned at her.

"What did you and Ari talk about?" When he didn't answer her, she craned her head around to look at him, shocked to find tears in his eyes. "Castle? What did she tell you? Did she tell you about being inside of the car? Oh my god, what did she tell you?"

"I can't talk about it right now, Kate. Trust me, right now you're better off not knowing," he kissed her fiercely as he wrapped his arms around her.

**A/N #4: As the pregnancy progresses, so will the full story. My plan is for one chapter to be a flashback that will hopefully explain everything. It's not all going to be dark, I promise.**

**As usual, I can be found on Twitter Caskett1960.**


	8. Chapter 8--Hormones and Anniversaries

**Disclaimers: 'Castle' still doesn't belong to me. But Christmas is coming.**

**Summary: The horny pregnancy hormones are in overdrive. This will be pure fluff, smut and M-Rated.**

**A/N #1: There will be NO darkness in this chapter. Or at least not much.**

**A/N #2: I want to thank all of my reviewers and followers, as well as those who have marked me on their favorites alert. This story is turning out much different than I planned, but I'm having a blast writing it, to see where the journey takes me. As some of you know, I free write, which means I sometimes don't know where I'm going until it shows up in my Word document.**

Chapter 8: Hormones and Anniversaries

_May_

Kate was sitting at her desk, but her mind was not on work. Instead, her mind was on how she could get her husband to fuck her senseless without being interrupted by the kids. The pregnancy hormones had kicked in early this time around. Sex and images of sex was all that was going through her mind at the moment. Forget work; forget planning for Ari's seventh birthday party; forget everything but the way that Castle could make her feel with his mouth, hands, and cock. She looked at her watch and pulled out her cell phone. "Hey Castle, it's me. Do you think that you could drop Jack off at Helen's?"

"Are you okay?" His voice was tinged with concern.

"I'm fine," she was quick to assure him. "I was just going to come home for lunch, but food isn't exactly what I have in mind."

"Feeling a little frisky, are we?" His voice was doing little to alleviate the situation.

"Something like that," her voice sounded breathless.

"In that case, I'll take Jack to Helen's. If you can call it an early day, I'll also have her pick Ariel up at school and keep her for a little while," he offered.

"I'd like that, but if we catch a case, I'll have to leave."

"Then, we'll just hope that you don't catch a case. I'll see you soon."

Capt. Gates was doing paperwork in her office when Kate rapped on the doorframe. "Sir, I was wondering if I could take a half-day."

"Are you feeling all right, detective?"

"Yeah, just a little hormonal."

Gates looked up from her desk at the flushed face of her lead detective. No words needed to be said. Gates just shook her head and gave Kate a small smirk. "Go ahead. If Ryan and Esposito catch a case, I'll only have them call you if they need to."

"Thank you, sir."

When Kate got to the loft, she got into the elevator and hit the button for the top floor, excitement flooding her entire body. She and Castle had enjoyed the horny pregnancy hormones very much during her pregnancy with Ari. With Jack, she hadn't been able to enjoy sex after her fourth month due to all of the complications. She hadn't felt this aroused since she was a teenager. She stepped off of the elevator and walked up to the loft door, key in hand. She saw Castle coming out of his office the second that she unlocked the door and within seconds she was in his arms, her mouth hungrily attacking him as she began to unbutton his shirt.

Quickly recovering from the shock of her aggressiveness, he slipped her shirt over her head and unhooked her bra, his mouth moving down to cover her swollen breasts with his mouth, tugging on her nipples with his lips and teeth, listening to her ragged breaths as he continued to work on her sensitive breasts, moving back and forth between them. He moved down her body to the top of her slacks and made quick work of them, sliding his fingers down to her panties. She was so wet that her panties were soaked. "You are so wet," he rubbed her through the thin cotton as she shivered and pulled him closer to her.

"Please, get me off, Castle. I'm so fucking close," she begged, rocking against his fingers.

He stood up and moved her back to his office chair, pushing down on her shoulders to get her to sit. He then removed her boots, slacks, and panties before opening her legs and once again placing his fingers between them, rubbing circles around her clit with his thumb and slowly pushing two fingers inside of her. She let out a high-pitched whine and arched her back off of the chair as he began thrusting his fingers in and out. He couldn't believe how wet she was. She was clenching almost painfully around his fingers as he moved faster. Suddenly, she let out a loud scream as she came hard on his fingers.

Castle could feel Kate's whole body shaking as he moved up, kissing her softly before he felt her mouth open and she sucked his tongue into her mouth, causing him to groan loudly as he stroked his tongue against hers. "Let me take you to bed," he mumbled against her mouth.

"Not yet," she pushed him away from her and pushed him down toward her still opened legs.

"Fuck, I love horny pregnancy hormones," he grinned before sliding back down her body.

"Me, too," she whimpered and once again arched her back when she felt his mouth covering her still quivering sex, his tongue sweeping the entire length of her before feeling his lips clamped down on her erect nub, his tongue flicking over it. "Shit, Castle. Your mouth is magical."

He couldn't help grinning as he continued his ministrations. He loved making love to this challenging, frustrating woman he was married to. But never more so than when she was carrying his babies. He didn't know what was in those hormones, but he knew that the drug companies and the sex industry would make a fortune if they could ever bottle it. During her pregnancy with Ariel, they had been like bunnies from her fourth month almost until her delivery. They'd missed out on that during her pregnancy with Jack due to the complications. But, it looked like they were going to get to enjoy them once again with this new pregnancy.

He felt her fingers carding through his hair, pulling him closer to her pulsing core. Her breathing was coming out in soft pants and loud groans as she thrust her hips against his mouth, trying to seek more friction. Reacting to her body language, he thrust his tongue deep inside of her as she screamed out several curse words. He once again reached up and circled her clit with his thumb as he continued thrusting his tongue in and out of her. He removed his tongue and once again used his fingers as he felt her orgasm approaching. Her entire body was covered in sweat as she grabbed the arms of his chair and moved her hips rapidly against him. He angled his fingers up and rubbed against her g-spot which immediately sent her over the edge.

He didn't give her a chance to recover this time; instead he picked her up in his arms and walked her toward their bedroom, depositing her on their bed before he quickly shed his own clothes. He teased her wetness with his hardness before pushing inside of her as she let out a loud gasp at his entry. Hooking her knees over his arms, he moved into her slowly, mashing against her clit with his pubic bone as she groaned louder.

The position that he had her in made it almost impossible to move, but Kate knew that she didn't need to. Castle was a mind reader where her body was concerned. He knew exactly what she wanted and what she needed. Without telling her, he wrapped his arms around her and rolled them so that she was on top. She grinned down at him before moving down and crushed her lips to his. He reached down and covered her breasts with her hands, pinching her nipples between his thumb and forefinger. She sat up straighter as he continued to play with her breasts before moving his hands down and gently encircling her small baby bump, letting his fingers trace over the shape as Kate smiled.

She reached behind her and caressed his balls in her hand as he let out an appreciative growl. She then took one of his hands and placed it on the juncture of her legs where they were tightly joined. He swirled his fingers over her clit as she tightened herself around him, eliciting another groan from her husband. "You like that?" She teased him.

"I liked it the first time you ever did it. Why should now be any different?" He teased back as she repeated the move. "Fuck, Kate. Are you close?"

"Not quite there, yet," she put her fingers over his, moving them the way that she needed. "A little more, Castle. Almost . . . almost . . . _shit_!" She screamed out as she tightened hard around him, setting his climax off. She screamed herself hoarse as she felt him spill inside of her. Sated and breathless, she collapsed onto his chest, feeling his arms come around her. "I may never go to work again."

"I may never let you go to work again. This one is definitely going in our top 10 list of best sexual experiences _ever_," his fingers stroked up and down her sweaty back.

"I need a shower because I'm a sweaty mess. Come on, Castle. Are you up for round four in the shower?"

"Always," he smiled as she climbed off of him and grabbed his hand

After they got out of the shower, Kate climbed into bed to take a nap while Castle went to get some writing done. He walked into the bedroom a short time later and stood in the doorway just staring at how beautiful she was. As if sensing that he was watching her, Kate's eyes fluttered opened and she gave him a sleepy smile. "So, which one was number one?" She asked as he came over and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Which what was number one?"

"Which of our sexual experiences is number one on your list?"

"Our first time. What did you think?" He bent down and kissed her, backing away when she tried to deepen the kiss. "We can't start anything. The kids are going to be home soon. Can I have a rain check?"

"Always."

***CCC***

_May 7_

"Why can't Jack and I go?" Ari was sitting on the vanity in the master bath watching Kate getting ready for her dinner date with Castle.

"Because, it's a special night for me and daddy. Besides, you're spending the night at Skylar's house and Jack is staying with grams."

"I don't have to go to Skylar's house. I could go with you and daddy."

"You've been excited about staying at Skylar's house all week. I want you to go and have a good time."

"What if I want to come home later?"

"Sweetie, if you decide later that you want to come home, daddy or I will come and get you. But, you need to have a good time. It's going to be okay."

"Are you and daddy going to watch me dance?"

"Of course we're going to come and watch you dance. I wouldn't miss it," she cupped her hands on Ari's face as the little girl grinned. "You're going to be the prettiest ballerina there."

"I have another loose tooth. See?" She put her fingers on one of her bottom teeth and wiggled it.

"Do me a favor. Please don't tell _everybody_ when it comes out."

"But, I got rich, mommy," Ari's eyes lit up, remembering the close to 100 dollars she'd collected after losing her first tooth almost a year before. Besides the loot that she'd gotten from the tooth fairy, she'd also gotten money from Ryan, Esposito, Gates, Lanie, and her father.

"You also got punished. Do you remember that part?"

"Yes," she sighed.

They both heard the door open and close as Ari's eyes lit up. "It sounds like daddy's back from grams house," Kate smiled as Ari jumped off of the vanity.

"Daddy!" Ariel jumped into Castle's arms. "Why can't I go to dinner with you and mommy?"

"Because it's a romantic dinner."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that mommy and I are going to be kissing," he smiled at his daughter. "_A lot._"

"Ewww!"

"Do you have your overnight bag packed to take with you to your sleepover?"

"Yes. Daddy, if I get scared, can I come home?"

Castle looked at the small girl in his arms. She was one part him and one part Kate. While she'd spent the night with both grandparents and her older sister, this was her first sleepover with a friend from school. "You're going to have such a good time that you're not even going to _want _to come home tomorrow. But, if you get scared later and want to come home, you can call me or mommy and we'll come to get you. Okay?"

"Okay," she kissed him on the cheek.

"Now, go play in your room. I have to get dressed."

Castle walked into the master bath and stopped when he saw Kate. She was dressed in a midnight blue dress that framed her shape perfectly, hiding her small baby bump. She had paired the dress with a pair of sapphire earrings and a sapphire choker and bracelet. "Hi, Castle," she kissed him.

"Ariel wanted to know why she couldn't go to dinner with us," he held her close to him, his hand resting in the middle of her back.

"What did you tell her?"

"I told her that we were going to be kissing," he began nibbling on her ear lobe as she giggled. "_A lot._"

"I'm sure that we will. I'm sure that there will also be touching."

"Yes, lots of touching," he moved to her neck. "You smell delicious."

"And you," she forcibly pushed away from him, "need to get in the shower. Your suit is on the back of the closet door."

Kate went into the living room and was double checking Ari's small rolling suitcase to make sure that she had everything that she needed when the doorbell rang. "Ari! I think Skylar and her mom are here!"

Kate opened the door to a woman in her late 30's who was standing with a little blonde haired, blue-eyed girl. "Hi Skylar, Mrs. Merrin. Please come in. Ari will be right down."

"Hi, Skylar!" Ari ran down the stairs, happily greeting her best friend.

"Hi, Ariel! Mommy's going to take us to McDonald's!"

"That's all right, isn't it?" Mrs. Merrin asked Kate. 

"Oh, it's fine. Ari loves McDonald's."

"Oh, I'm so glad. So many of Skylar's other friends have weird dietary restrictions."

"No, Ari doesn't have any of those. If she doesn't like something, she'll be the first to tell you."

"Well, we'd better get going."

"Okay," Kate knelt down in front of her daughter, who began to look slightly uneasy. "Mrs. Merrin has both mine and daddy's phone numbers and we have hers. Have a good time. Do you want us to call you later?" She asked as Ari nodded. "Okay. I'll call you as soon as we get home from dinner."

"She's going to be fine," Mrs. Merrin assured Kate.

"Bye, sweetie," Kate kissed her as Ari wound her arms around her mother's neck.

"I love you, mommy."

"Ari, it's going to be _okay_," Kate pulled back so that Ari would look at her. "No more bad stuff, remember?"

"I remember," Ari smiled.

"Okay. Go have fun."

Kate sighed after she'd closed the door. She and Castle had talked to the children's pediatrician, who'd just told them to keep doing what they were doing. Dr. Fletcher had told them that children process trauma much differently than adults do. She'd told them that so long as Ari wasn't acting out or anything of that nature, that she was fine. She turned toward the office doorway when she sensed she was being watched. She smiled at the sight of Castle, dressed in her favorite black suit, paired with a black shirt and a white tie. "Wow, you look so handsome," she walked over and smoothed her hands over his shoulders.

"Don't you mean _ruggedly _handsome?"

"Yes, I do," she kissed him.

He had reservations for Drago and they arrived in the Town Car shortly after six. He held Kate's chair out for her as she sat at their table. He ordered a bottle of sparkling cider since she couldn't have alcohol. He still couldn't believe that they'd now been married for eight years and together as a couple for 10. "What're you thinking about?" She asked him.

"About us," he took her hand and kissed it. "About the plans that I have for you once we get home."

"Okay, now I'm intrigued," she gave him that million megawatt smile that he loved. "But, before you get too carried away, I promised Ari that we'd call her when we get home. She was so scared, Castle. I just want to make sure that she's okay."

"I know. I'm glad that none of her school friends know what she went through that night. It makes it easier for her to just be a normal little girl."

"She asked me if we were going to come and watch her dance next week. She's so excited."

"Have you decided on a menu for her birthday?"

"She wants pizza and chicken nuggets," she looked at her husband, who made a face. "Castle, she has a child's palate. I'm trying to get her to pick one or the other, but she's a woman. She changes her mind every other day."

"So, how are Hope and her mother feeling tonight?"

"That sonogram had better show the right parts or we're going to be looking for another name," she grinned. "But, Hope and her mother are feeling great. Actually, her mother is suffering from an incurable case of pregnancy hormones," she bit her lip as she smiled at him.

"I might have a cure for that when we get home."

"I certainly hope so."

They got home a little after eight, kissing and laughing together. Kate put her purse on the counter after taking out her cell phone. "Hi Mrs. Merrin, this is Kate Castle. Can I speak to Ariel?"

"Hi mommy," Ari's voice came over the line seconds later, sounding breathless.

"Hi chunky monkey," Kate said, using her old nickname. "Are you having fun?"

"We're playing bowling on the Wii. It's the best thing ever! Did you and daddy have fun at dinner?"

"Yes, we did. Would you like to talk to daddy?" Kate handed the phone to Castle.

"Hi, sweetie."

"Hi, daddy. Daddy, can we get a Wii? Bowling is the bomb!"

"Well, your birthday is coming up, so we'll see. It sounds like you're having a good time. Mommy and I will pick you up at around noon tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, daddy. Good night."

"Good night. I love you."

"I know," she said, sounding so much older than her six years.

"I'm glad that she's having a good time," Kate said after Castle handed back her phone.

"I told you that she'd be fine."

A few hours later, Castle's phone rang. He and Kate were both sound asleep after rather vigorously celebrating their anniversary with ice cubes, whipped cream, and chocolate syrup. After showering, they'd fallen into bed and quickly gone to sleep. Now his phone was ringing in the middle of the night. Castle picked up his phone, squinting when he didn't recognize the number. "Castle," he finally mumbled into the phone. "Mrs. Merrin?" Kate shot up in bed as Castle waved at her. "No, that's fine. I'm glad that you called. Tell Ariel that I'll be there in about 10 or 15 minutes. Thank you," he hung up before looking at Kate. "Ariel had a bad dream and now she refuses to go back to sleep. So, the Merrin's think it would be best if one of us came to get her."

"I can go," she started to get out of bed, but Castle stopped her.

"No, she asked for me. Go back to sleep." He threw on a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt before stopping by the bed and kissing Kate on the forehead. "She's fine, Kate. I'll be back soon."

The Merrin's lived in a small frame house about 10 minutes from the loft. Castle had only been there on one occasion when he'd taken Ariel to a birthday party, but he managed to find the house. He got out of his car and walked up to the front door. Just as he started to knock on the door, it was opened by a man in his early 40's, looking rumpled and sleepy. "Mr. Castle?" He asked as Castle nodded. "I'm Carl Merrin. Ariel's at the dining table with my wife. She was screaming like somebody was murdering her, so we thought it best to call you."

Mr. Merrin led Castle into the small dining room where Mrs. Merrin was sitting with a tearful Ariel in her lap. The instant that she saw her father, Ariel raced into his arms, clinging to him tightly. "The car blew up, daddy! I couldn't get out of it!"

"Shhh, baby. It's okay," Castle swung her up into his arms. "Thank the Merrin's for having you."

"It was our pleasure. Maybe the next time Skylar can spend the night at your house," Mrs. Merrin told them.

Castle carried her out to the car and strapped her into her booster seat in the back seat before getting in and starting the engine. "Is mommy mad at me?"

"No, sweetie. Why would mommy be mad?"

"Because I wanted to come home."

"Ariel, its okay to be scared. Come on, let's go home."

When they walked into the loft, Castle walked into his office with Ariel on his hip and grabbed something from one of the bookshelves before going back into the living room and sitting in Kate's recliner, nestling the little girl against his chest as he opened the book he'd brought out with him. "When you were a baby, I used to tell you stories," he whispered into her hair. "Last night was a special night for mommy and daddy. Because eight years ago, your mommy married me. This is a picture of your mommy wearing her wedding dress."

"She's so pretty," Ariel whispered.

"Yes, she is. We got married in the backyard of the house in the Hamptons. See all of the flowers?" Ariel nodded as he turned a few pages. "And this is mommy with you in her tummy. Your mommy was so happy when she learned that she was having you because we both wanted you so much. And she was happy because you were going to be born in May. This is mommy with you when you were just a few minutes old."

"Ew, I was all gunky looking," Ariel made a face.

"All babies are gunky looking when they're born. Here you are after they'd cleaned you off."

"That's better. Were you there when I was born?"

"Yes. So were grams and Grandpa Jim and Alexis. You were in a great big hurry to come out."

"Can I be there when mommy has Hope?"

"Mommy and I will talk about that. Do you think that you can go back to sleep now?" He asked as she nodded. "Okay, let's go to bed."

After tucking her into bed and staying until she went to sleep, he went back downstairs and got back into bed beside Kate, who snuggled up next to him. "Is she okay?"

"The Merrin's must wonder what in the hell we're letting her watch on TV," he said.

"Let me guess," Kate propped herself on one elbow. "She had a dream about the car blowing up again?"

"Only she didn't make it out this time."

"Well, at least she's not having the dreams where she's walking down the hallway at the morgue and can't find you, anymore. How are we going to help her move past this, Castle?" She laid her head down on his chest.

**A/N #3: Repercussions from coming home early are coming. After all, children are cruel.**

**I can be found on Twitter Caskett1960**


	9. Chapter 9--Ballet, Birthday & Babies

**Disclaimers: No, I don't own 'Castle.'**

**Summary: Ariel celebrates her seventh birthday. Also, Kate and Castle talk about the night that Tyson and Nieman died while Ryan and Espo share their own memories.**

**A/N #1: The reviews for this story have been great. Once again I want to thank everybody who has posted something. For those of you who are confused, I will start trying to clear things up with this chapter. **

**A/N #2: To AAR1806 on Twitter who thanked me for giving you two stories in one, you're welcome, although that wasn't my original intent. Like I said, I'm never sure what direction my stories are going to go, but once I started on this path, I liked where it was going.**

Chapter 9: Ballet, Birthdays, and Babies

_May 10_

It was rare when Kate actually got to pick Ari up at school, but since her daughter had a recital that evening, she'd taken off from work early so that she could make sure that everybody had dinner before they had to get ready to go. She was standing outside of the doors to the school with some of the other mothers who seemed to be giving her funny looks as they waited for their children to emerge. Finally the doors opened and the first graders came filing out. Kate smiled when she spotted her own six-year-old, a smile that vanished when she saw the tears pouring down her small face. "Ari, what's wrong? Are you hurt? Are you sick?"

"Oh, Mrs. Castle," Ari's teacher walked up to Kate. "Ariel's fine. She just had a little argument with Skylar Merrin."

"Sweetie, what did you and Skylar get into an argument about? She's your best friend."

"No, she's not! She told everybody that I'm a baby because daddy had to come get me from the sleepover!"

"Oh, I see. Why don't we talk about this at home? Tell Mrs. Crane bye and you'll see her tomorrow."

"Bye, Ariel."

Kate took Ari by the hand and walked her out to the car, where she helped her into her booster seat. "Skylar's mom called all of the other mom's and now nobody will come to my birthday party!"

"I'm sure that your friends will still come to your party. Stop crying now," Kate wiped the little girl's face. "Let's go home to daddy and Jack."

When she walked into the loft with Ari, she rolled her eyes at the mess her husband and son had made on the living room floor. They had cars scattered all over the place with various obstacles to drive over. "Mommy! Come play with us! Godzilla is going to destroy New York City!"

Castle took one look at Ariel's tear-stained face and looked at Kate. "I have to go make a phone call. Castle, you were supposed to start dinner. We have to be at the ballet school at six o'clock."

"But, it's only—" He looked at his watch as Kate glared at him. "Right, I'll start dinner. Jack, start putting your cars away."

"But daddy, what about Godzilla?"

"Godzilla will have to attack New York City tomorrow. Come on; do as I asked, please. What did you do at school today, Ariel?" Castle asked as he walked to the kitchen.

"Skylar told my whole class that I was a baby. Her mom called all of the other mom's and told them, too. Now everybody hates me."

"You're not a baby, Sissy. You're as brave as mommy. Daddy told me," Jack piped up.

"You really told Jack that?"

"I sure did. So, you wanted to come home early from your sleepover. There's nothing wrong with that."

In the bedroom, Kate took out her cell phone and contemplated exactly what she was going to say to defend her child. It was one thing for a child to say something mean to another child. After all, it was a known fact of life that children were cruel, but they also quickly moved past it. But for an adult to spread gossip about another child was unconscionable in her opinion. Kate dialed the number and waited for the party on the other end to answer. "Hello?" The woman on the other end answered.

"Mrs. Merrin, this is Kate Castle, Ariel's mother. I'd like to know just what you're thinking calling the mother's of the other children in our daughter's class and telling them that my daughter is a baby because she wanted to come home early from your home." 

"Mrs. Castle, I did no such thing. However, I am rather concerned about the nightmare that your daughter had the other night in my home. Skylar and her brothers are only allowed to watch an hour of television a day and never are they permitted to watch violent—"

"Not that it's any of your business, but my children also aren't allowed to watch a great deal of television. A week before Christmas last year, Ariel and her father both almost died. The nightmare that she had is a repressed memory from that night."

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

"We don't go around broadcasting it because we want Ariel to be a normal six-year-old. I would appreciate it in the future if you wouldn't go around spreading gossip about my daughter. If you have any questions, I will gladly answer them for you."

"Mrs. Castle, I will make sure that Skylar apologizes to Ariel in front of her class tomorrow."

"Okay, fair enough." She hung up and noticed Castle leaning in the bedroom doorway. "How's Ari?"

"She thinks that everybody hates her."

"Kids are so cruel, but the parents are even worse. Let's get them fed, because I've got to get her bathed, and do her hair."

After giving Ari a bath, Kate sat her in front of the vanity and began the arduous task of fixing her daughter's hair. "Mommy, please tell me you're not going to make me look like Honey Boo-Boo," Ari made a face at herself in the mirror.

"I would never make you look like that," Kate promised her daughter.

"My friend Candace is in pageants. She gets to wear makeup and fake hair. Why does she wear fake hair when she already has real hair?"

"It's to make her real hair look longer. They're probably extensions. Mommy used to wear those a long time ago."

"Why?"

"Because daddy liked it better when I had long hair. At the time, my hair wasn't long enough, so I wore extensions. But, you don't need extensions because you already have beautiful long hair, even if it is like mommy's," Kate made a face.

After putting Ari's hair into a bun and spraying it with enough hair spray to enlarge the hole in the ozone layer, she took her hand and led her into the living room, pushing her down onto the couch. "I know. Don't move until you tell me to," Ari looked into her mother's eyes.

"If you mess one hair on your head, I'll use daddy's stapler on you. I'm going to get dressed, and then I'll get you and your brother dressed. _Do not move_."

Castle got into the shower after Kate was dressed. She dressed Jack in a pair of tan slacks and a blue shirt before she turned to her daughter, who was holding her white tights and her tutu in her hands. Kate was glad that Ari had returned to ballet after refusing to go for months after the incident. Ballet had been a constant reminder of where they had been going that night. Returning to it showed Kate that Ari had started taking control of things in her life once again. She helped her into the tights first, trying as always, to ignore the scars on the little girl's lower legs. Road rash from hitting the asphalt as the result of being tossed from a speeding car. Fortunately, the road rash and a small cut on her face had been her only injuries. She hadn't received any injuries from the car crash that had almost killed Rick that night. All of her injuries had come courtesy of the monsters that had snatched her from the car.

After pulling the tights up, Kate held the tutu so that Ari could step into it. "Turn around and look at me," Kate instructed as Ari did as she was asked. "You look so pretty," Kate smiled.

"Is daddy going to tape me?"

"Of course. Doesn't daddy tape everything that you and Jack do?"

"Hey, is everybody ready?" Castle asked from the doorway.

"Yes, we are. Ari, grab your toe shoes. We'll put them on when we get to the school."

When they got to the ballet school, Kate went with Ari to the back to help her finish getting ready while Castle and Jack waited for everybody else to arrive. Espo and Lanie were the first to arrive. "Bro, is this one of those moments that always ends up on 'Funniest Home Videos?'"

"I'll have you know that my daughter is a perfect prima ballerina," Castle boasted.

"She's as graceful as Beckett, so of that I have no doubt," Lanie smiled.

"I'm telling you that you owe me. Watching a bunch of little girls and boys dance is _not _my idea of a fun evening."

When Kate came from the back a little while later, she was pleased to see their entire extended family there. Her father had even brought a bouquet of half a dozen roses. "Every dancer deserves roses for her first recital," he told her as Kate kissed him.

When they sat down, Castle settled Jack on his lap until he decided that he preferred his older sister's lap, so Castle passed him over to Alexis. They had to sit through several performances before Ari's class came out on stage. Tears came to Kate's eyes as she clutched Castle's hand. "Look at her, Castle. She looks so grown up."

"Kate, she's gorgeous," Lanie whispered.

Castle held his camcorder so that he could get every second of the performance. It wasn't perfect, but it was still so sweet that it took his breath away. Lanie was right when she'd said that Ariel was as graceful as Kate.

After the recital, Kate stepped into the back to help Ari while everybody waited in the lobby. "She was so cute, dad," Alexis told him.

"Yeah, she was," Castle agreed. "I'm glad that she cheered up because we had a rough afternoon after school."

"What happened?" Martha asked.

"Well, she had a sleepover Friday night and it didn't go well. I had to go pick her up early after she had a nightmare. Apparently, the other little girl wasn't very nice today at school."

Ryan and Espo exchanged glances before Javi walked away from the others. "Kevin, is Javier okay?" Martha asked.

"Yeah, Mrs. R. He just still has a rough time talking about that night."

"Did I dance good?" Ari came running out, jumping into her father's arm as Javi forced a smile and rejoined the others.

"You were great, little chica," he praised her.

"I was thinking that a performance like that deserves ice cream at Serendipity. How does that sound to you?" Castle asked Ariel.

"Yes!"

"Oh, we'd love to, Rick, Kate," Jenny said apologetically. "But we told the sitter that we wouldn't be late. Besides, I have to feed the baby in about an hour."

Kate smiled in understanding, knowing that the Ryan's now had a three-month-old at home now. Siobhan Ryan had been born the day after Valentine's Day. "You are going to be at Ari's birthday party, aren't you?"

"Oh, yes," Jenny nodded. "The kids have been talking about it for weeks. I'll be there early to help you get ready for it. You don't need to be spending a lot of time on your feet."

"That sounds great," Kate smiled as she hugged her.

"Thank you for coming to watch me dance," Ariel thanked them.

"Oh, you're welcome, sweetie," Ryan hugged her as her arms tightened around his neck, bringing back memories of that December night a year and a half before. "Castle, we'll see you Saturday. Beckett, I'll see you tomorrow."

Later that night, Kate was reading to both children in Jack's room. This time she was reading 'Alice in Wonderland,' which although it also contained talking animals, Ari was willing to go along with the program, since her little brother loved the book. "Mommy, what does Godzilla look like?" Jack wanted to know.

"Like a 100 foot lizard," Kate told him.

"Wow," the little boy breathed in amazement. "I'm going to catch a lizard at the house and see if I can grow it into Godzilla."

"Good luck with that. Lay down," she moved him under the covers. "It's time to go to sleep."

"Sissy, will you help me catch a lizard?"

"Okay. Good night, Jack."

Kate walked Ari into her room and helped her into bed. "You were so pretty tonight," Kate tucked her into bed.

"Mommy, why do Uncle Javi and Uncle Kevin call you Beckett?"

"Because that's my last name at work."

"Why are Jack and my last name Castle?"

"Because Castle is daddy's last name."

"I think that Hope should be a Beckett and a Castle."

"I think that you're very smart. Go to sleep."

Kate was smiling when she left Ari's room. She walked down the stairs and found Castle sitting in a corner of the couch, checking his phone. He smiled when Kate sat down in his lap and clasped her hands behind his neck. "What is on your mind, Mrs. Castle?"

"Ari said that Hope should be a Beckett and a Castle."

"All three of our children are both a Beckett and a Castle," he looked at her in confusion before what she was saying became clear. "Oh, you're saying that Beckett should be a part of his or her name."

"Exactly."

"Hmm, Hope Beckett Castle. I like it," he wrapped his hands around her waist.

"So do I," she rested her head on his shoulder. "Castle, why don't you want to tell me what Ari told you that night?"

"I don't want you to start getting all stressed out like you did when you were pregnant with Jack," he rubbed his hand over her stomach.

"Rick, I'm fine," she pulled back and smiled at him. "Really, I'm okay. Please tell me what she said. The one thing that the boys and I could never get her to talk about that night was the car. The moment that we tried, she'd shut down. We even thought that if she talked to Karpowski or LT, but she still wouldn't talk."

"She told me that Tyson wanted to kill her, but that Nieman wouldn't let him. He kept repeating that he wanted me to pay and she told him that I was going to pay with my life. Ariel said that she started screaming for us and that Tyson screamed at Nieman to shut her up. She said that was when Nieman tossed her out of the car, moments before Tyson set off the explosion. Kate, she saw the dynamite in the backseat, only she referred to it as a bomb. She's six, so she doesn't know the difference."

"When Gates told me that the boys had radioed in to say that they had her, she said that Ari was screaming so loudly that she could barely hear Ryan. When they brought her to me, I don't know how long I held onto her before I realized that she'd been hurt. Her legs and her hands were a mess, Castle. The road rash ripped right through the pants that she was wearing. I'm surprised that she didn't break her arms trying to break her fall."

"Probably because she didn't have enough time to react. When I woke up after the accident and I saw you sitting there, I was scared to ask you about Ariel. I was so scared that you were going to tell me that she was dead."

"She kept begging all of us to let her see you. We tried to explain to her that she couldn't see you until you got better. She finally told Alexis one day that you were dead and I didn't want to tell her. That was when I brought her to the hospital."

He smiled when he remembered that afternoon. He was on so much pain medication that at first he thought that he was dreaming when he opened his eyes and saw the little girl with his and Kate's eyes standing by his bed. Even though it had been excruciatingly painful, Kate had still put her on the bed beside him and he remembered how tightly she'd clung to him. At that time, he hadn't been able to put his arms around her, but tears had streamed down his face at how warm and alive she'd felt. "Are you angry because I wrote the book?"

"No. I knew that you were never going to put it behind you until you were able to write about it. Castle, we need to sit down with Ari and explain to her that we'll always do our best to keep her safe. That there are just some bad people out there."

"We will," he kissed her temple, feeling her melt into him. "She's going to be okay, Kate."

***CCC***

Saturday morning found them in the Hamptons preparing for a birthday party later that afternoon. Martha, Alexis, Lanie, and Jenny had all shown up to help Kate decorate the house. The women were hanging pink and white balloons from every available surface while the children ran in and out of the house. "So, are all of her guests going to come?" Martha asked.

"Yes, they are. The little girl who started all of the trouble made a very public apology to Ari in front of the entire first grade and they are now best friends again," Kate told the women. "Although it should've been the mother who had to make the apology."

"It's a sad thing when the parents are meaner than the kids," Jenny said as Kate nodded in agreement.

The party was a huge hit. The birthday girl wore a purple dress with a purple rhinestone tiara on her head to match the Sofia the First theme of the party. Ari received a huge pile of gifts that made her very excited. After the party, she made the rounds of her guests, thanking them and showing them her newest missing tooth in the process. Kate watched her talking to Javi until she saw Ari showing the gap where her tooth had been and Javi taking out his wallet. "Ariel Johanna! Give it back! We talked about this!" Kate walked up to her daughter, her stride showing how angry she was.

"Beckett, relax. It's not a big deal," Javi told his friend.

"Not a big deal? Can we talk for a second?" She pulled him to one side. "She got 20 dollars from the tooth fairy. That's more than fair market value for a tooth. If she thinks that she can get money from our friends for losing teeth, she'll start pulling them out with pliers. Please do _not _give her money every time she shows you a missing tooth. Because by giving her money, you are undermining mine and Castle's authority."

"I'm sorry, Beckett. It won't happen again."

"Listen Javi, I know that you adore her and the two of you have a bond that I don't understand."

"Like I said, it's cool, Beckett."

"Now I have someone else that I have to deal with," she turned toward her daughter. "Ariel, let's have a chat." They went into the house and upstairs to Ari's bedroom. "I'm very disappointed in you. I won't embarrass you in front of your friends, but starting tomorrow you get no TV, no tablet, and no computer for a week. Now, go back downstairs to the party."

Later that evening, after all of Ariel's classmates had left with their parents, Castle, Ryan, Esposito, and Capt. Gates' husband Ben were sitting around a fire pit in the backyard, drinking beer. The women were in the house and the kids were watching a Disney movie. "Bro, I think that I got Little Chica in trouble," Espo said as Castle looked at him. "She showed me that she'd lost another tooth. Beckett saw me trying to give her money."

"Yeah, Beckett kind of put the kibosh on that," Castle told his old friend. "That kid is losing baby teeth at such an amazing rate that she's going to make a killing from the tooth fairy."

"It was the watch that led us to Tyson's car," Espo said as Castle looked at him. "The Amber Alert had been issued, but then Beckett remembered that you had bought Little Chica some kind of high-tech watch with a GPS tracker in it."

Castle had bought the watch for Ariel for her fifth birthday on a whim. He even remembered Kate thinking that it was a silly gift and unnecessary since she was always with family members. He'd argued back that it was better to be safe than sorry. "Wow, it wasn't such a silly gift after all," he breathed.

"Ryan and I were about five or six car lengths back," Espo continued. "We didn't want to get closer because we figured Tyson would make us. They were going about 40 or 45, when Ryan saw the car door open and . . . he saw a body flying out. I stopped in the middle of the fucking LIE. Cars were swerving all over the place."

"We jumped out," Ryan picked up the story, "and we could hear Ariel screaming. I remembered shouting her name until she finally saw me and Espo. She got up and just ran. Right after she reached us was when the car blew up."

Inside the house, the women were all sitting around drinking coffee, except for Kate and Jenny, the newly pregnant mom and the nursing mom. "So, are you going to find out what you're having?" Capt. Gates asked.

"We go in the middle of June. We're hoping for another girl," Kate smiled.

"Do you have a name picked out?" Gates asked.

"Hope Beckett Castle."

"Oh, I like that a lot. What if it's a boy?"

"Let's just say that it had better not be or a certain little girl is going to be very upset. Ari is counting on a baby sister."

"So, when are you going to tell Castle that she's been put on restriction for a week for attempting to extort money from Espo?" Lanie asked.

"I'll have to tell him tonight when we go to bed."

After everybody had left, Castle suggested that they take a bath together. "You never told me that you called in the GPS coordinates on Ariel's watch," he said as they relaxed together.

"I was grasping at straws that night, Castle. I totally forgot about the watch until I was sitting there waiting for you to get out of surgery. I wasn't even sure that Ari would be wearing it. I thanked god that you had insisted on buying her that watch even after I told you that it was silly."

"So, did she get in trouble today?" He breathed against her neck.

"Espo told you," she smiled. "She's on restriction for a week starting tomorrow. Maybe the next time that I tell her not to do something, she'll remember."

"She's almost seven, Kate. She's smart, but she's also still a little kid."

"Let's go to bed and celebrate making her," she kissed him.

"Let's celebrate making all three of our babies," he let his fingers wander down to her breasts.

**A/N #3: I know that it's sort of anti-climatic, but in the next chapter we're going to find out what the sonogram reveals.**

**I can be found on Twitter Caskett1960.**


	10. Chapter 10--The Elephant in the Room

**Disclaimers: Nope, they still aren't mine.**

**Summary: Kate has a conversation with Ari and Jack about the upcoming baby while Castle appears on a 'Dr. Phil' type talk show where he talks about the Tyson book. Kate and Castle began the search for a new house.**

**A/N #1: There will be a mix of humor and angst in this chapter.**

Chapter 10: The Elephant in the Room

_Mid-June_

"So, how have you been feeling?" Dr. Caldwell asked Kate on a warm morning in mid-June.

"Really good. Uh, Castle and I were wondering if I was going to be able to have a vaginal delivery. I've been reading different articles on the Internet and they all say different things."

"Well, the consensus used to be that once you had a c-section, that's what you had to have for all subsequent deliveries. But most doctors don't feel that way any longer. Let's plan for a natural delivery and hope for the best," the doctor smiled as Kate let out her breath. "So, no morning sickness; no more fainting?"

"The morning sickness barely existed and I didn't pass out after the day that I learned that I was pregnant. However, I want sex all of the time," she admitted as the doctor laughed.

"There's certainly nothing wrong with that. Well, lie back on the table and let me go get that handsome writer of yours."

The doctor left, returning moments later with a very anxious-looking Castle. "Hey, Castle," Kate reached out for his hand. "Don't look so scared."

"She's fine, Rick," the doctor added. "Let's see if baby will cooperate and let us see what we have in there."

The gel was cold, causing Kate to jump slightly. But hers' and Castle's attention was instantly riveted by the images on the ultrasound monitor. "Come on, baby," Kate placed Castle's hand on her stomach as she rubbed it around in circles. "Be an exhibitionist for us, please?"

They watched as the baby began to squirm around inside of her uterus. "So, do you guys see anything?" The doctor smiled.

"No, the baby's not cooperating."

"Oh yes, she is," the doctor smiled at them.

"_She _is?" Kate repeated as the doctor pointed out the obvious to them. "Why isn't it more obvious?"

"Probably because you aren't quite as far along as you were when you were pregnant with Ariel and Jack. But, you're definitely having a girl."

"Hello, Miss Hope Beckett Castle," Castle whispered in Kate's ear as she turned and gave him a long, slow kiss.

"Okay, you two. That's how Kate got in this condition in the first place," Dr. Caldwell teased as she wiped the gel from Kate's stomach. "I'm still thinking of a due date of the 15th of November."

"A birthday baby," Castle grinned.

The kids were with Martha, so after they left the doctor's office, Castle called her and told her that they'd pick them up in a couple of hours. After buying her lunch, Castle took Kate back to the loft where they fell into bed together, hungrily kissing and removing clothes from each other. Lying breathless in each other's arms a little while later, Kate placed open-mouthed kisses on Castle's chest as he traced lazy circles on her back and arms.

He rolled them so that he was looking down at her and put his hand over the baby bump. "I feel like we're getting a second chance," he looked at her as she put her hand on his jaw. "I feel like I've come back from the dead and I'm getting another chance. That Hope _is _my . . . our second chance. That nothing bad can ever hurt us again."

"I feel that way, too. Let's take a shower because we need to go and pick up the kids," she pulled him down and gently kissed him. "I love you so much, Castle."

"Uh, I got a call from Warren Carver. He wants me to do a taping of his show."

"Warren Carver is a Dr. Phil wannabe," Kate rolled her eyes. "What's the topic of the show?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but I'm sure that it probably has something to do with the Tyson book."

"Make sure that they give you a date that it's going to air so that Ari and Jack don't accidentally see it."

"That's all that you're going to say? You're not upset because another talk show host wants to dredge up our past?"

"Castle, the book has been out for nine months. It's still on the New York Times Bestseller List. All of the talk shows are still interested in our story."

"Even the Dr. Phil wannabes?"

"Especially the Dr. Phil wannabes. Dark, twisted minds are great for ratings."

"Do you think the guy will get pissed if I just tell him to read the book?"

"Probably, but I think that you look very handsome on TV," she kissed him. "Let's go and get our kids."

When they brought the kids home, Castle went to run some errands while Kate decided to have a talk with them about the baby. She sat on the sofa with Ari on one side and Jack on the other. She had the sonogram pictures in her hands. "Mommy went to the doctor this morning to see if she could see a picture of the baby. I have pictures of you two when you were inside of me, also," she showed them the sonograms that she had of each of them. "Ari, this is yours. This is your head and your arms and legs. This is you sucking your thumb," she showed her as Ari giggled. "See your backbone?"

"It looks like an x-ray."

"Yes, it does," Kate agreed.

"How do you know that's Sissy and not me?" Jack asked.

"Jack, that is a very good question. On your picture, you can see your penis right there," both kids giggled. "I was so sick the night that the doctor showed me this, but when I saw that you were a boy, I was so happy."

"Does the new baby have a penis or not?" Ari asked.

"You tell me," Kate handed her the picture. "Is this Hope or do we need to pick a boys' name?"

Ari examined the picture carefully before her whole face lit up. "She's like me! Jack, we're having a sister! We're having a Hope!"

Kate laughed while she watched Ari celebrate around the living room. "Uh, can I have Hope's first picture back, please? I want to put it in her album like I have yours' and your brother's."

"Mommy, how is she going to get out of inside of you?" Ari came back to the sofa and gave Kate the picture back.

"I have a better question," Jack piped up. "How did she get in?"

"When daddy kisses mommy, that's how we get inside of her," Ari told her brother as Kate bit back a smile.

"No," Jack shook his head. "Because daddy kisses mommy _a lot_. She'd be having a baby sister every day."

"It doesn't happen in the daytime, Jack," Ari rolled her eyes. "When daddy kisses mommy _at night_, that's how the baby starts growing. That's why they lock their door at night. Because _it's magic_."

Kate rather liked Ari's explanation, although she knew that she should probably correct her. She decided they'd have a more private conversation later. But she knew that for Jack, simple was best. "Ari's right that daddy plants the seed that makes the baby start growing. But, it's a lot more complicated than that."

"When can I have a baby?" Ari asked.

"Not until you're a lot older."

"How old? Ten? Eleven?"

"Not until you're a grown up like mommy and Alexis."

"So, how will she get out?"

"I'll tell you what," Kate slipped an arm around her daughter. "You and I will talk about that later, okay?"

When Castle got back home, they decided to take the kids to the park to let them blow off some energy. They walked through the park and stopped at the swings. Ari could get her own swing going once she received a small push, but Jack's legs were still too short. Castle stood behind his swing and pushed him as Kate watched. "We had biology class today," she told him.

"Oh, the whole 'where do babies come from' thing?" Castle guessed.

"Ari told Jack that when you kiss me at night, it starts the baby growing inside of me. She told him that it's _magic_," she smiled.

"Yes, it is," he agreed with a huge smile.

"I'll tell her the truth when I put her to bed," she whispered.

"Not the whole truth? I mean, she's only seven. I don't want her telling her second grade friends about how babies are made," he whispered back.

"How old was Alexis when you told her the whole truth?"

"Nine or ten, I think. It turns out that she knew more than I did."

When they got back home, Kate turned to her best source on how to answer a child's question. "Jenny, I have a question," Kate told her when Jenny Ryan answered her phone. "Ari is asking me how the baby gets out. How much detail should I give her?"

"When I was pregnant with Siobhan, Kevin and I were faced with that. Kevin wanted me to go into explicit detail because he never intends for Colleen to have sex," she said as Kate laughed. "I talked to my sister, who told me to ask questions back. She told me that for someone as little as Jack and Liam are, simple explanations are best. With Ariel, you still want to stay fairly simple, but only answer what she's asking you. Don't go into detail about sex. Does that help?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"You don't remember asking your mother when you were a kid?"

"I was an only child and I don't even think my parents ever even had any pregnant friends. I remember the sex talk, but I think I was 12 or 13 when we had that. And I remember answering a lot of my mom's questions that night."

"You'll figure it out."

After bathing Jack, Kate settled him into his bed as she read to him from his favorite books. "Mommy, how did the baby _really _get inside of you? Did you swallow a magic bean?"

'Keep it simple,' Kate tried to remember Jenny's advice. "Daddy and I love you and Ari so much that we decided that we wanted to give you a baby brother or sister. So, God saw how much I wanted another baby, so he put it there."

"Oh," he said.

"Go to sleep, little man," Kate kissed his forehead.

In the bedroom next door, Ari was playing with the tablet that she'd gotten for her birthday. "Okay, young lady, time to turn the tablet off," Kate told her. "Do you have any more questions about Hope?"

"You never did tell me how she is going to get out."

"Well, women have a special part of their bodies which is how the baby gets out."

"Mom, I've seen babies. Babies are big. At least bigger than _that_," Ari's eyes were huge.

"Well, believe me when I tell you that's how they come out. I know that I didn't believe it either when I was your age."

"Yuck!" Ari lay down and threw the blankets over her head as Kate laughed.

"Good night, sweetie."

Kate walked downstairs and found Castle in his office, deep in thought as he stared at his computer. "Are they asleep?"

"No, not yet. What's wrong?"

"I just got a text from the Carver Show. The topic of the show is overcoming a traumatic event. They want me to talk about the accident and my fears that something had happened to Ariel. Kate, I have done my best not to talk about what happened to her that night. It was why I changed hers' and Jack's names for the book. I won't have her exploited!" He shouted, before he remembered that the kids were trying to sleep.

"Then, call the Carver Show and tell them that you won't do the show if they insist on talking about Ari. Tell them that you'll talk about the search for Tyson and the night that he ran you off of the road and took Ari. But, that's as far as you'll go. Tell them that you'll discuss your rehab and how painful it was."

"What if they won't agree to it?"

"Then you don't do the show. Castle, the book is a huge bestseller. They're going to be making it into a movie. You don't need the publicity. This guy is trying to make a name for himself in the mainstream market. He wants a national show like Katie Couric or Dr. Phil. You don't have to supply him with the means to get one."

He got up from his chair and walked over to her, pulling her tightly into his arms as she wrapped her arms around his waist, breathing in the scent of him. "I love you so much."

"Come on," she took his hand and led him into their bedroom, closing and locking the door behind them.

Lying in his arms later listening to his gentle snores, her mind went back to that night.

_One of the traffic cops on scene had called Gates when they realized that the wrecked car was Castle's. She, in turn, had called Beckett. When Kate had arrived on the scene, firefighters were still trying to free him from the mangled wreckage of the car while he screamed one name over and over. She froze in terror when she realized that he was screaming their daughter's name. That was when she learned that Ari wasn't in the car; that witnesses reported a man snatching her from the backseat of the car seconds after the accident. _

_It had taken 45 minutes to free him from the car with him screaming the entire time. Kate barely remembered getting into the ambulance with him as he clutched desperately at her hand. "I tried to reach her, Kate. I could hear her screaming for me and I tried to reach her, but I couldn't. I tried to reach her, but I couldn't. I can't believe that I let that animal take her."_

"_Rick, it's okay," she tried to soothe him even though her own mind was screaming for their baby. "Ryan and Esposito are looking for her. Eyewitnesses gave them good leads. They're going to find her."_

She traced her fingers down his body, finding every one of the awful scars from that night. He'd suffered a compound fracture of his right leg from the steering column slamming down and pinning his leg to the gas pedal; several broken ribs, a punctured lung, a ruptured spleen, bruised kidneys, a bruised heart, lacerations to his face and head. He had spent four days in the ICU fighting for his life before he finally started to rally back.

_When he'd first awakened up after his surgery, his eyes had sought out Kate's. He had still been on a ventilator to give his bruised body a chance to heal. But Kate knew the question that he was asking her with his eyes. "Ari's okay, Rick. Ryan and Espo got her. She's a little banged up, but she's okay. You can see her in a few days."_

He had closed his eyes and hadn't opened them again for more than 30 hours. When he opened them again, he saw that she'd brought Ariel to see him. Tears fell down all three of their faces when Kate had gently placed Ariel on the bed with him after instructing her to be gentle. He hadn't been able to hug her back, but just feeling her tiny arms on him had made him feel so much better.

"What's wrong?" She heard him mumble sleepily.

"I was just thinking about that morning when I brought Ari to the hospital to see you."

"She shouldn't have had to see me like that," he said, his voice low in the quiet of their bedroom.

"Rick, it was good for both of you. It allowed her to see that you hadn't died, like she thought you had and it allowed you to see that she was all right so that you could start healing."

"The ventilator terrified her, Kate. You should've waited until I was at least breathing on my own."

She didn't say anything; she just pressed herself closer to him. It did no good to say anything. They'd had the same argument countless times since he'd first been weaned from the ventilator. It was one of the many things they had yet to talk about without arguing. Kate always referred to that time as the elephant in the room. She traced her fingers down the long scar under his rib cage where the chest tube had been. She couldn't help thinking about how they matched in that regard.

He placed his hand on her stomach and kissed her on top of her head. "After I do the interview on the Carver Show, we'll talk. I promise."

***CCC***

Two weeks later, Castle was sitting in the makeup chair when the producer for 'The Warren Carver Show' entered the room. "Mr. Castle, on behalf of Mr. Carver, I'd like to thank you for agreeing to appear on the show. Mr. Carver is going to be discussing your near fatal car accident and how you've managed to come back from the events of that night."

"I talked to Mr. Carver two weeks ago about the topics of conversation. I want to make it clear that I will not be discussing what happened to my daughter the night. If he so much as mentions her name, I will walk."

"But your daughter was in the car—"

"I will _not _discuss my family."

"Very well," the producer agreed somewhat reluctantly. "What if he agrees not to air her name or any images of her? We can blur any pictures of her."

"I won't make my daughter fodder for the tabloids!" He snarled.

"All right. I'll relay your conditions to Mr. Carver."

An hour later, Castle was sitting in the guests' chair on the stage of local talk show host Warren Carver as the music was cued and the audience began to applaud. "Welcome to the Warren Carver Show," Carver, a PhD in his late 40's with black hair and piercing green eyes, faced the audience. "My first guest today is best-selling author Richard Castle, who is going to walk us through his struggles following a near-fatal car accident last winter. Mr. Castle, welcome to the show."

"Thank you for having me," Castle smiled at the host.

"Your latest best-seller, 'In the Eye of the Beast,' recounts yours' and the NYPD's search and the eventual death of serial killer Jerry Tyson, who was better known by the nickname 3XK. How did that final showdown come about?"

"I was going on an errand in midtown when I was t-boned at a traffic light. After he crashed into me, I was told that Tyson and his accomplice carjacked another motorist and went on the run."

"What was the extent of your injuries?"

"I suffered a compound fracture of my right leg, a lot of internal injuries. I spent four days in the ICU and another three weeks after that in the hospital, followed by three and a half months of rehab to be able to walk again."

"Have you fully recovered?"

"I face a couple of more surgeries on my leg, but other than that, I've recovered."

"What has your brush with death taught you?"

"To appreciate the small, everyday things in life. I think that I pay more attention to things that I never gave a second thought to before. Listening to my kids play in the park, standing beside my wife in the morning as we brush our teeth. Little things like that."

A few nights later, Kate and Castle watched the show from their bed. She turned to smile when he said those things about appreciating life a lot more. "You like watching me brush my teeth?"

"I like watching everything that you do," he grinned at her.

"It was a great interview."

"He was a jerk but it was an okay interview. I was thinking," he looked at her. "We have five months until Hope arrives. We need to start searching for a house. I want to get moved before she gets here."

"Okay. Where do you want to start looking?"

"I don't know. I'll bring up a couple of websites and see if anything pops. We both know what we want; a good school, a nice park, large bedrooms, an office."

"Big front and back yards," Kate added with a yawn.

"You're sleepy," he turned off the TV before lying down beside her. "We'll start searching tomorrow."

"'Kay. Love you," she mumbled sleepily.

"Love you, too," he kissed her.

**A/N #2: The hunt for the house starts next chapter.**

**I can be found on Twitter Caskett1960.**


	11. Chapter 11--A Dream House & Reliving

**Disclaimers: Nope, 'Castle' still doesn't belong to me.**

**Summary: Castle and Kate find their dream house and Kate reads Castle's book about Tyson, learning of his feelings from the ordeal.**

**A/N #1: I thought a lot about this chapter. I do find it entirely realistic that Kate wouldn't have wanted to relive the ordeal with Tyson, so she would've avoided Castle's book. The excerpts from Castle's book will be in the first person and in italics.**

Chapter 11: A Dream House and Reliving a Nightmare

_August_

It was late and Kate couldn't sleep. Even the sound of the surf pounding the waves in the distance couldn't lull her to sleep. She loved spending time at the Hamptons house. Usually the peace and quiet calmed her after a long week at work. But, now she was faced not only with a seven-year-old and her nightmares, but those of her husband, as well. They hadn't had communication issues in years, but he couldn't talk about that night and the day's right after the accident.

Kate had never read 'In the Eye of the Beast.' Castle hadn't been anxious for her to relive the experience and for once she had agreed with him. She knew from watching his appearances on the late night talk shows some of the content. She knew that he'd changed the names of Ari and Jack in order to protect their privacy, although everybody at Ari's school knew what had happened to her.

She crept downstairs to his office and looked at the books on his bookshelf until she finally found it with its dark sinister cover. The cover that terrified Ari every time she looked at it. A black cover with red eyes that looked as though they were looking right through you. She went into the living room and got comfortable in her favorite chair before opening up the book and smiling when she read the dedication page: _'To my beautiful, brave Ariel. The second bravest person I've ever loved.'_

She opened the book to Chapter One and started to read: _'The first time I encountered pure evil was in October of 2010. His name was Jerry Tyson and he made my life and the life of my partner hell for over 10 years. By the time that he ended his life on the Long Island Expressway on a cold December night 14 years after our first meeting, I had become convinced that he was Satan's right hand man. He nearly destroyed not only our lives, but the lives of our friends and family, as well.'_

When Castle woke up early the next morning, Kate's side of the bed was not only empty but cold. He knew that she'd been up for hours. He threw on his robe and made his way downstairs, finding her asleep in her chair with an opened book on her stomach. He frowned when he saw what it was that she was reading. She stirred when she felt him remove the book. "Hey, Castle," she sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Why are you reading this?"

"I read all of your books. Number one fan, don't you remember?" She flashed him a smile.

"I thought that we agreed that you didn't need to read this one. And you especially don't need to be reading it now," he nodded toward her pregnant belly.

"Castle, I feel great. Never better. You interviewed all of us for the book. I just want to see what the real Kate Beckett looks like in print. I want to see if I have anything in common with Nikki Heat."

"That's not funny," he growled as he took the book back to his office.

"Don't you think that I feel guilty that I couldn't save her that night?" She followed him into the office. "She's my baby, Castle! My firstborn! And I couldn't protect her from a monster!"

He turned from the bookshelf and looked at his wife. "Kate, I'm so sorry," he walked over and pulled her into his arms.

"All I could hear was you screaming her name, Castle. I thought that she was in the backseat, but then I saw that the back door was opened. And that was when the traffic cop told me . . . he told me that the eyewitnesses told him that they'd saw someone grab Ari from the car and then they stole a car. Castle, I would've rather have had her in the car with you and hurt, than at the mercy of Tyson and Nieman. I wanted to go after them, but Gates convinced me that you needed me more. I just wanted her back."

"I heard the car door open. At first . . . at first, I thought it was a Good Samaritan helping Ari out of the car. I knew that she wasn't hurt because I heard her crying right after the accident. Then I heard her screaming 'Help me, daddy! Help me!' and I knew that son of a bitch had her. Then I heard her shrieking when they carried her away. Kate, why didn't anybody try to stop him?"

"Several bystanders did, but Tyson and Nieman both pulled weapons on them. She even fired a couple of shots. Then they carjacked someone and took off."

"I was in so much pain," he closed his eyes, swallowing hard. "But the physical pain was nothing compared to the pain in my heart."

"I wanted to be in two places at once. One of me wanted to be with you at the hospital and the other one of me wanted to be with the boys when they were looking for her. I feel so guilty, Castle, because it took me over an hour to remember the watch. I wasted an hour when we could've had her back!"

"But you did remember," he cupped her face with his hands. "And we did get her back."

Later that morning, Kate was in the pool floating lazily in the water, her hands gently caressing her pregnant belly. Hope loved the pool. Actually she loved all bodies of water. It was the only time when her very active baby was relaxed. Of the three babies, Hope was by far the most active. She'd easily wake Kate up a dozen times a night with her acrobatics. She heard the French doors open, followed by the running of small feet. "Mommy! Is Hope moving around today?" Ari jumped into the pool.

"She doesn't move around a lot when I'm in water," Kate smiled when she felt Ari's small hands on her bare stomach.

"Why?"

"Because she likes being in the water. You were the same way."

"Why?"

"Because babies like water. They swim in water for nine months until they're born. Where's your brother?"

"Getting his swim suit on."

Kate smiled. Both children were good swimmers thanks in part to Castle, who had taught Alexis when she was small. Both of them could swim before they could walk. She knew that Hope would also be taught to swim by her father. All either of them wanted was for their children to be safe.

Moments later, the doors opened again and Kate smiled when she saw Jack coming outside with Castle, both of them wearing Spiderman swim trunks. It was at times like this that she was reminded that she was still married to a nine-year-old on a sugar rush. Jack giggled hysterically when his father picked him up and tossed him into the pool with a splash before he dove in after him. Kate moved to the shallow end of the pool out of the line of fire. His horseplay with the kids had a tendency to get loud and rowdy.

After watching them for a little while she got out of the pool, showering the chlorine off in the outside shower before wrapping a towel around her and going into the coolness of the house. She went upstairs and slipped on a sundress before going back downstairs and retrieving her book from Castle's office. Sitting in her recliner and putting the footrest up, she once again began to read, losing herself in Castle's words, feeling as if she could hear his voice as she read.

_Chapter Five: 'When I was framed for the murder of Tessa Horton, Kate and I both knew that the rules of the game had changed. We both knew that he wasn't going to stop until one of us was dead. But to finally be believed one hundred percent by someone was eye opening. I could see the pain in Kate's eyes when she came to visit me before I was transferred. But I could also see the love and the trust. I've been married twice and have had countless relationships, but have never seen that level of love in any of their eyes.'_

She smiled when she read that. Lanie always referred to the way she looked at Castle as Loveballs. _"You look at him and it's like there's nobody else in the room," _Lanie had once told her.

Her reflections were interrupted by the ringing of Castle's cell phone. She got up and picked it up, seeing that it was the number of the realtor they were using in the hunt for a new house. "Hello?"

"Good morning, Mrs. Castle. Is Mr. Castle available?"

"He's not in the house right now. Can I take a message?"

"I have a found a perfect property to show the two of you. Tell him that I'll email him pictures of it, but I think it's exactly what you've been looking for."

"Where is it located?"

"It's on Massapequa, Long Island. I'm sending him the pictures right now. Just have him call me when he gets in."

"I will," she hung up and walked out just as Castle was getting the kids out of the pool. "Emily Hall just called. She said that she has the perfect property for us to look at. She's sending you pictures of it."

"She has shown us a dozen so-called 'perfect properties.' Why does she think this one is different?" He wrapped Jack into a towel and scooped him up.

"I don't know, but she says it's exactly what we've been looking for. I'll take them inside and get them changed. Come on, guys," she held her hand out to Ari and reached out for Jack.

"You don't need to be carrying him. Jack, go with mommy," he put his son on the ground.

After cleaning the kids up and getting them dressed in dry clothes, she instructed them to play in their rooms. When she came downstairs, she found Castle in his office, looking at his laptop. "Well?"

"Kate, Emily might be right this time. Come and look at this," he turned the laptop so that she could see the images on the screen. "Five bedrooms, seven baths, a home office, three car garage, a pool _and _a hot tub, three and a quarter acres of land, it's even zoned for horses."

"These rooms are huge," she smiled at him. "When can we see this?"

"There's only one way to find out," he called the realtor on his cell phone. "Hi, Emily. It's Rick Castle. Hey, we're looking at the pictures of the house on Long Island and were wondering when you could show it to us. Friday's good," he looked at Kate, who nodded in agreement. "Uh, one o'clock?" Another nod from Kate. "We'll see you then."

***CCC***

That night after the kids were sound asleep, Kate once again made her way down to the pool, adjusting the temperature before slipping out of her robe and into the pool stark naked, the warm water easing the achiness in her lower back. Achiness that she knew was only going to get worse as her pregnancy advanced. "Why Mrs. Castle, it seems that you've once again forgotten your suit," she smiled at the sound of Castle's voice.

"I can't use the Jacuzzi and I didn't feel like a hot shower. Would you care to join me?" She turned to smile at him.

"Are the kids asleep?"

"A long time ago," she assured him as he slipped out of his clothes and joined her on the steps, sitting on the top step so that she could rest against him. She sighed as his hands massaged her swollen breasts and belly. "Hope has been using my bladder as a punching bag today."

"It's going to get worse before it gets better," he continued his gentle massage.

"I know. I'm so fucking horny, Castle," she groaned at the feel of his hands on her bare flesh.

"Let me see what I can do to help with that," his fingers traveled down lower, rubbing her wet folds as she groaned louder. He barely had to touch her before she shuddered and came completely undone. "Wow, you weren't kidding when you said that you were horny," he softly kissed her temple, feeling her relax against him once again.

"If I didn't have to work and take care of the kids, I'd live in this pool. I'm beginning to feel like a whale, Castle."

"Well, you look beautiful as always to me. How about I take you inside and give you a massage?"

"That sounds wonderful," he got up and took her hand, helping her from the pool and back into her robe before pulling his back on and leading her into the house and upstairs to their bedroom.

The next morning, Castle took the kids for a walk on the beach, so Kate took out the book and read some more. She knew some of the stuff that had been in the books since she'd seen his notes and his outlines. He'd also interviewed her and the guys at the 12th for the book. But to see his research take book shape was a revelation to her. It had been that way for as long as she'd known him.

_Chapter 10: 'I wanted to share Kate's belief that Tyson was dead. But we both soon came to realize that if Dr. Kelly Nieman wasn't trying to keep his memory alive, then there was a very good chance that she was assisting him, even going so far as possibly changing his appearance. If Jerry Tyson was alive, none of us knew what he looked like now. He could be our neighbor, or the man behind the counter at the coffee shop. He could be A.J.'s karate teacher or one of Alexis' co-workers. We just didn't know. We all became hyper-alert to the point of paranoia. _

_The song on the flash drive threw Kate back into the world of PTSD, a dark world of nightmares and flashbacks. Screams in the middle of the night once again became the order of the day. I learned that the Vera Lynn song 'We'll Meet Again' had been played at Johanna Beckett's funeral. But it would take us months to learn how Tyson had found that out. I once again had my loft swept for bugs, just as I had after I'd been framed for Tessa Horton's murder. I hired the best in the business, only to be told that our home was clean.'_

Kate closed her eyes and closed the book. She wished that she'd listened to Castle's insistence that Tyson was alive. Maybe if she'd listened, they could've found him faster, even if it meant embarrassing the NYPD.

Walking on the beach, Castle helped the kids hunt for shells. "Friday, you're going to spend the day with grams because mommy and I are going to go look at a house."

"Why do we need a new house? What's wrong with our old house?" Jack asked.

"Well, we need more room with Hope coming."

"Daddy, we still have one bedroom. That's where Hope can sleep," Jack reasoned.

"That's true, but then where will grams, Grandpa Jim, or Alexis and Brian sleep when they stay over? We need a guest bedroom for them."

"Who will get our old house?" Ariel asked.

"I don't know, yet."

"Why can't we live in this house all of the time?" Jack asked. "I like it here."

"I like it here too, but it gets really cold in the winter time. Plus, the schools are better in the city. I want you and Sissy to go to the best schools."

"Daddy, I _don't _go to school," Jack reminded him.

"You will pretty soon if they let you in."

"Can we go swimming in the ocean later?" Ariel asked.

"I don't know," Castle looked out to sea. "It looks like it's going to rain later. Maybe we'll come swimming tomorrow. Come on; let's go see what mommy's doing."

When they entered the house, the kids were delighted to see that Kate had made grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch.

"Mommy, when we get our new house, can we get a dog?" Jack asked between bites of sandwich.

"Yeah, we can get a dog," Kate agreed. "What kind of dog would you like?"

"Old Yeller."

"Jack, Old Yeller got shot, remember?" Ari reminded her little brother.

"At least he didn't ask for Cujo," Castle whispered to Kate, who bit back a laugh.

"Yeah, he didn't have a happy ending, either," she whispered back.

"Neither did the kid in the Pinto."

***CCC***

Friday morning, Martha entered her acting class with Ariel and Jack in tow. "Good morning," she greeted the 15 or so students in the class. "This morning we have an audience. These are my grandchildren, Ariel and Jackson. Now, we were discussing Shakespeare in relation to some of today's works."

Like Alexis when she was small, the younger children were enthralled watching their grandmother take command of a room. She had the same effect on her students, who followed her instructions closely. When they were on a break, one of the students came up to talk to Ariel and Jack. Martha watched as Ariel instantly shrank away while Jackson easily chatted with the student. "Ariel, would you like to help me set up some props?" Martha called out as Ariel instantly fled from the student.

"Mommy doesn't like it when we talk to strangers," Ariel told her grandmother.

"Sweetie, you're safe here. I would never let anything happen to you or your brother."

"I know, grams. But, we have to do what mommy tells us."

Out on Long Island, Kate and Castle walked around the empty house as their realtor, Emily Hall, pointed out various aspects of it to them. "The master bedroom is downstairs and the other four bedrooms are upstairs. There's also an area that had originally been designated as a game room that could be turned into a fifth bedroom. Let me show you the back," she led them through the dining room and out the back door.

They stood looking at a huge pool and a Jacuzzi as well as a pool house, which Kate knew they could convert into an apartment. The yard beyond the pool area was huge with trees everywhere you looked. "How far away is the school?" She turned to the realtor.

"The elementary and high schools are six to eight blocks away. The middle school is three miles away. But the school bus stops nearby."

"What is the owner asking for it?" Castle wanted to know.

"Two point two million, but he's willing to cover the closing costs."

"Can you give us a few minutes?" Castle asked as the realtor went back into the house before he turned to Kate. "Well, what do you think?"

"I love it," she smiled. "It's big and airy. It reminds me of the house in the Hamptons. It'll be nice to have a larger space to entertain."

"I want to look around one more time," he took her hand and led her into the house and up the stairs. "Pick out a room for the baby."

All four of the upstairs bedrooms were huge and filled with sunlight, but the corner room was perfect for a nursery. It was already painted a cheerful yellow and the windows looked out onto a flower garden and several trees. "This is Hope's room," she smiled at her husband.

"Then let's go and talk to Emily," he took her hand and led her back downstairs. "Emily, let's get the paperwork started. I want to make an offer on this house."

When they walked into Martha's acting school an hour later, they looked at each other when they heard a familiar voice. "Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?"

When they followed the sound of the voice, they found the classroom and smiled at Ariel behind a prop tower, a flowing hat on her head as she recited the familiar words from one of William Shakespeare's best known plays. Martha turned and smiled when she saw them standing in the doorway. "Hello Richard, Katherine," she walked over and hugged each of them. "I found a way to bring Ariel out of her shell. She's still so shy around people she doesn't know."

"Mother, I'm _not _enrolling Ariel into acting school," Castle told his mother.

"Mommy, did you hear me? Wasn't I great? I got to be Juliet!" Ari ran over to her mother.

"I'm surprised that grams didn't sign you up to be Ariel," Castle smiled at his mother.

"We're not doing 'The Tempest,' dear. So, how did the house hunting go?"

"Don't you have a class to teach?" Castle asked back. "Come on, kids. Let's go and feed mommy."

"Richard, I expect to hear all about the house later!" Martha called after them.

Later that night, Kate was lying on her side while Castle massaged her back. "Lower, Castle," she directed him until he found the spot just above her tail bone. "Right there," she let out a loud groan as his fingers pressed down. "When will we know about the house?"

"Probably by early next week."

"We need to go through our stuff and get rid of things that we don't use."

"But I like my stuff."

"I know, but you never realize how much _stuff _you have until you have to start packing it up. Even after my first apartment blew up, it still amazed me how much I had when I moved in with you."

"Does getting rid of some of our stuff include your shoes?"

"Hey, I need my shoes," she craned her neck around to look at him.

"Kate, how many pairs of black high-heels do you need? Not to mention your boots? You must have 15 pairs of boots in our closet. And they're either brown or black. I have two pairs of dress shoes, a pair of boots, and two pairs of sneakers. And Ariel is getting as bad as you are in the shoes department. She's seven, Kate. She outgrows her shoes every other month."

"We women need our shoes. I don't expect you to understand it, Castle. Just keep rubbing my back. It's your fault that it hurts."

"How is _your _aching back _my _fault?"

"Because you're the one who knocked me up."

"And you love me anyway," he bent down to kiss her neck as she began to laugh.

Rolling toward him, she began to unbutton his shirt as she attached her mouth to his. "Get your clothes off, Castle."

A little while later, Kate felt like screaming as she lay there listening to Castle's deep breathing. This time the culprit was heartburn and Hope's elbow poking into her kidneys. She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed, being careful not to awaken Castle. She pulled on her robe and went to retrieve her book from his office. She then went into the kitchen and made herself a cup of hot chocolate, loading it with cinnamon and whipped cream before going to her chair and settling into it. She was down to the last few chapters of the book and she was hoping to finish it before going back up to bed.

_Chapter 20: 'December 19 started out as a normal day in the lives of the Castle family. A.J. was excited about the last day of school before winter break and J.J. was excited simply because his sister was excited. The day was bitterly cold, in the 20's with 20 mile an hour winds and snow flurries. It was much too cold to take J.J. out in it unnecessarily. I made arrangements with my mother to stay at the loft with the baby while I picked A.J. up at school and took her to her ballet lesson. The plan was then to meet up with Kate and take the kids out for pizza to celebrate the end of A.J.'s first half of the school year. Those plans never happened._

_We had suspected for several months that we were being followed. That our lives had once again been invaded by pure evil. Small things from our home came up missing. Both of our cars were vandalized, as were the vehicles of Kate's colleagues. _

Kate took a deep breath remembering those days before the accident. Nothing of value had been taken from the loft. It was all small stuff. Castle kept insisting that it was Tyson and Dr. Creepy while Kate argued back that Tyson was dead. She continued reading.

'_At 2:45 I picked A.J. up from her Kindergarten class and buckled her into her booster seat, taking time to admire the art work she'd done in class that day. As we headed to her ballet class via midtown, she continued to chatter as I did the normal daddy thing, which was to nod a lot and add comments when I was expected to. _

_I was stopped at the intersection of Broadway and Fifth Avenue. I remember listening to A.J. chattering about the Flatiron Building, one of her favorite landmarks in the city. When the light turned green, I started through the intersection to A.J.'s ballet school, which was three blocks away. Suddenly, I felt an impact on the driver's side which sent me into the cars directly in front of me. I think that I was knocked unconscious for about a minute because the next thing I remember hearing is A.J. screaming for me to wake up.'_

Kate closed the book, deciding that she'd had enough for tonight. She finished her chocolate, before going into the kitchen and rinsing her cup before putting it in the dishwasher. She then slowly made her way back upstairs and climbed back into bed beside Castle, who rolled toward her and pulled her into his back, his hand resting on her belly.

"You okay?" She heard him mumble against her back.

"Yeah, go back to sleep."

As she lay there in the dark, she found herself realizing that Castle was right. She didn't need to be reading that book. She didn't need to relive the fact that she'd been powerless to protect her own daughter from a monster.

**A/N #2: Kate will finish reading the book in the next chapter. I just didn't want this chapter to run on forever.**

**I can be found on Twitter Caskett1960.**


	12. Chapter 12--Reflections and a New Beginn

**Disclaimers: It's Christmas and Santa still hasn't turned the reins of 'Castle' over to me. So, I don't own anything.**

**Summary: Kate reflects on the aftermath of the accident as they begin to get ready to move into the new house.**

Chapter 12: Reflections and a New Beginning

_September_

"But, why do I have to get rid of my toys?" Ari whined, very uncharacteristic for her as Kate began going through her overflowing toy box.

"Ari, you don't have to get rid of everything, but you don't even play with some of this stuff, anymore. We're going to give them to kids who aren't as lucky as you are." Kate pulled a stuffed white rabbit from the toy box as Ari made a sudden grab for it.

"You can't give them this!"

"Ari, come on. You have lots of stuffed animals. Tell me what's so special about this one and I might let you keep it."

"The policeman gave it to me so that I wouldn't be afraid. He said that I could tell him all of my secrets. Now can I have it back?"

Kate sighed, suddenly remembering the stuffed toy Ari had been clutching in her hand that night at the hospital.

_The night of the accident_

Kate had been waiting outside of the operating room where Castle had been taken almost immediately upon arriving at the hospital. Martha and Alexis had arrived just moments before. An Amber Alert had been issued for Ari, but then Kate had remembered the watch. The stupid watch that Castle had bought Ari for her fifth birthday. _'She doesn't need a watch with a GPS tracker, Castle. She's always with family.' 'She's going to be going to school in the fall,' he'd argued back. 'She'll be out of our sight.'_

Gates had given Ryan and Esposito the coordinates of the tracker and they were following it. Now all Kate, Martha, and Alexis could do was wait and pray. "I should be looking for her," Kate sobbed, pacing the floor. "I need to be out there looking for her."

"Richard needs you here," Martha told her.

"He'd tell me the same thing. He'd tell me to go look for her. I never understood it until I held Ari in my arms for the first time. I never understood that feeling that I'd actually die for somebody. That I'd willingly give my life for hers! I want to go and look for her! I want to find that son of a bitch and rip his heart out of his body. Then I want to smash my fist into his psycho girlfriend's face and gouge her eyeballs out. I want my baby back!"

Kate put her hands over her face and screamed a primal scream of pain and rage. Martha encircled her arms around her daughter-in-law and held her, tears coursing down her own face. They were interrupted by thunderous footsteps. "Beckett, Ryan and Espo have Ariel. They have her and she's safe. They're on their way here with her now."

"Is she hurt?"

"I don't know. I could hear her screaming, so at least her lungs are in good working order."

"What about Tyson and Dr. Nieman?"

"They're dead."

"Dead?"

"They blew up the car that they stole on the Long Island Expressway. CSU is still going through the wreckage, but they confirm that there are two bodies inside of the vehicle."

"But, Ari's okay?"

"Ryan and Espo said that she is. They'll be here soon."

Kate, Martha, and Alexis stayed huddled together until they heard the elevator at the far end of the corridor. Ryan walked toward them with Ari in his arms, her arms clutched tightly around his neck, something dangling from one hand. Kate's heart quickened in her chest when she saw Ryan whisper something in Ari's ear and then he pointed as he placed her on the floor. "Mommy!" Ari shrieked as she ran toward Kate, the hood on her jacket falling behind her and her long braids flying. She hit her mother with so much force that Kate was knocked off of her feet.

"Ari, oh my baby," Kate cried as she felt Ari's arms and legs wrap around her, holding on for dear life. She smothered her small face with kisses, wiping away streaks of blood from a cut on her cheek. She slowly got to her feet with assistance from Martha and Alexis, who wrapped themselves around Ari and Kate, all of them crying with relief.

Martha was the first to pull away and she noticed Ryan standing with Gates, tears running down his face. She walked over and pulled the Irishman into her arms. "Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you so much. Where's Javier?"

"He . . . he's trying to pull himself together. How's Castle?" He finally managed to ask.

"Still in surgery."

"Ari, what happened to your leg?" Kate noticed the blood soaked leg of Ari's pants and pulled it up as the little girl struggled. "Ryan, what in the hell did they do to her?"

"They . . . Beckett, they threw her out of the car. She got the scrapes to her hands and her leg when she hit the street."

"I need to get her looked at," Kate shifted Ari in her arms as she headed for the elevator. "Call me if you hear anything about Rick!"

A doctor saw Ari immediately. Kate stood by the examination table and watched the doctor cut the pant leg on Ari's pants. She winced when she saw the abrasions. "Well, she doesn't need any stitches. I'll clean her up and bandage it. I'll write you a script for some antibiotic cream. Honey, let me see your hands," the doctor instructed.

Instead of complying, Kate noticed that Ari seemed to shrink in on herself, clutching the dirty stuffed toy she was still holding in her hand. "Ari, it's okay. The doctor just needs to see your hands."

Ari looked at her mother and handed the toy out to her. "Where's my daddy?" She finally asked. "I want to see my daddy."

"Sweetie, you can see him soon. The doctors are taking care of him. Ari, where did you get this?" Kate showed Ari the stuffed rabbit.

"The police gave it to me."

***CCC***

"Okay, you can keep the rabbit," Kate relented.

"Who will get my old toys?"

"Children who don't have any nice toys to play with."

"I have another loose tooth. Look," Ari demonstrated by wiggling a top tooth.

"Wow, the tooth fairy is going to go broke."

"I think I'm going to go play with Jack," Ari announced as she left the room.

Kate was still going through toys when she found herself interrupted by strong arms wrapping around her huge stomach. "Hey, Castle," she breathed as he kissed her temple.

"You're getting rid of this?" He pulled out a toy that flashed colored lights. "Ari _loved _this."

"When she was two," she reminded him. "Come on, Castle. We've talked about this. We all need to get rid of things that we don't use anymore."

"What's with this dirty rabbit?" He picked the rabbit up off of Ari's bed.

"One of the uniforms gave that to Ari the night . . . _that_ night."

"Oh."

_The night of the accident_

After getting Ari's injuries treated, Kate took her back up to the surgical ward. By now, Ari had completely shut down. The doctor told Kate that it was the shock and she'd be herself in a few hours. "Have you heard anything?" Kate asked Martha.

"No. How is she?" Martha nodded toward Ariel, who had her head resting on Kate's shoulder, but her eyes were staring straight ahead.

"She hasn't said a word in the past hour. The doctor said that she's in shock. I want to take her home, but I need to stay up here with Castle."

"Beckett?" She looked over to find Ryan standing there. "I have to go to the precinct and fill out my 5's, but after that I can take her to my place. She can stay with Jenny and me until Castle's out of the woods."

"Ryan—"

"Beckett, it's okay. You don't want her staying up here. She needs to be somewhere where things are normal."

"Ari," Kate forced the little girl to look at her. "I want you to go home with Uncle Kevin until I can see daddy. Okay?"

Ari looked from her mother to Kevin and back again before finally reaching her arms out to Kevin, who pulled her close. "It's okay, baby girl. You can help me and Uncle Javi with our reports."

"Where is Javi?" Kate asked.

"He's with Lanie. He's . . . he's having a rough time."

Kate sighed as tears filled her eyes. Like herself, her colleague suffered from PTSD. He was also extremely close to Ari and Jack.

Lanie had taken Javi to a quiet corner and was helping him to decompress. Like Beckett, Javi kept his emotions inside. But when they exploded, they exploded in a rage. The last time she'd seen him this angry was when they'd worked the case with their body doubles. "I thought somebody was going to hit her!" He paced the room. "She was thrown out of that car like she was a bag of trash! When she ran to me and Kevin, she just held onto me so hard that I couldn't breathe. Then we saw the car just stop and then it was like I was in Afghanistan all over again. That car blew sky high. I grabbed Little Chica and we hit the deck."

"Javi, she's okay," Lanie put her hand on her boyfriend's arm. "She's a little scraped up, but she's a kid. She'll bounce back."

"Hey, Javi," they looked over to find Kevin standing there with Ariel in his arms. "I'm going to go to the precinct to finish my report and then I'm going to take Ariel to my place."

"Hey, Little Chica," Javi stroked Ariel's face as she flinched.

"Beckett said that she's in shock. So, are you coming?"

"Yeah, I'll be there."

***CCC***

"The baby is looking great," Dr. Caldwell moved the transducer over Kate's abdomen. "How have you been feeling?"

"Fat. Tired. Hungry. Craving sex non-stop. Should I continue?"

"Is she still very active?"

"Extremely. If she's not kicking my ribs, she's kicking my kidneys or my bladder or squashing up against my lungs."

"And just think that she's not even done growing, yet," the doctor smiled. "I finished reading your husband's latest book. Very good, but very creepy. I'm sure that you're glad that's all over."

"Yeah, we both are."

_The night of the accident_

It was almost morning before the surgeon came out to talk to Kate. "Your husband's condition is very critical. He has severe internal injuries. I've reset the break in his leg and put pins in it. Eventually he'll have to have more surgery."

"When can I see him?"

"He's in recovery right now. I'll have someone come to get you as soon as we get him settled. Then we'll be moving him to ICU."

Kate wasn't prepared for how bad Rick was going to look when she finally got to see him. She wasn't expecting the ventilator. "He can't breathe?" She looked at the doctor.

"He has bruised lungs and a bruised heart. We want to give his lungs and heart a chance to rest. We'll start weaning him in a day or two. Plus, one of his lungs was punctured by one of his broken ribs. You can only stay for a few minutes and then we're going to move him."

"Hey, Castle," she breathed as she brushed her fingers lightly over his forehead. "Rick, Ari's okay. I just want you to know that. I know that you can hear me, so please believe me when I tell you that she's okay."

"Mrs. Castle," she turned to find a nurse standing beside the bed. "We're getting ready to move him to ICU. You can see him again as soon as we get him moved and settled."

"Rick, I have to go," she stood up and leaned over, pressing her lips to his forehead. "I'll see you in a few minutes. I love you."

***CCC***

"Girl, you have enough shoes to start a small shoe store," Lanie told Kate as both women stood in the middle of hers' and Castle's giant walk-in closet, surveying the contents. "Do you want a baby shower?"

"How do you go from commenting on my shoes to asking if I want a baby shower?" Kate looked at her best friend.

"It's just how my mind works."

"Castle wants to have a housewarming party, so I guess we could combine that with a baby shower. How's Javi?"

"Javi is getting better. I convinced him to go back to the therapist that he was seeing after he got back from Afghanistan. He can tell him stuff that he can't or won't tell me."

"That's what is great about therapy," Kate smiled at her friend.

"How's Ariel?"

"She still has good days and bad days, but the good days are finally outnumbering the bad ones. She wants to help me decorate Hope's room in the new house. I don't know how that's going to go."

"Oh, let her help. She's so excited about having a baby sister."

"Sometimes I think it's because she wants one more person to boss around."

"Well, let's get started in here," Lanie told Kate, who simply sighed as they surveyed the closet.

_The day after the accident_

Alexis had agreed to pick both children up and take them back to hers' and Brian's Townhouse. One of her old friends from high school had agreed to babysit when she went to visit her dad at the hospital.

"Alexis, we're worried," Jenny whispered, watching Kevin dress Ariel in her coat, hat, and mittens. "She hasn't said a word since Kevin brought her here. She just holds that stuffed rabbit. She doesn't even cry."

"Maybe it's still the shock," Alexis suggested.

"Maybe, but she's practically catatonic."

"Ariel, are you ready to go?" Alexis asked her sister. "When we get to the Townhouse, you and Jack can play with our new puppy. His name is Rook, after daddy's book."

Ariel's eyes flickered momentarily at the mention of the character from her father's book. She was very familiar with the world of Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook. But, instead of saying anything, she simply followed Alexis to the front door. "Alexis, let us know if you need anything," Kevin told her as the redhead nodded.

At the hospital, Kate had been spending every waking moment with Castle and she was exhausted. While the settings had been adjusted on the ventilator to force him to take more breaths on his own, he still hadn't been successfully weaned from it. Every time they tried, alarms would go off and the monitors would flash. "Castle, you have to get better," she stroked his hand. "The kids and I need you. Martha and Alexis needs you. Please don't die on me. I can't face a life without you in it."

In his sedated body, Castle could hear Kate's voice and he could feel her fingers touching his hand and his arm. He wanted to open his eyes, but his body felt so heavy. It was easier just to keep his eyes closed where he felt safe and warm. Safe in a world where there was no Jerry Tyson's to rip his little girl from his grasp. He could still hear Ariel's screams when they had snatched her from the car. Her screams of 'Daddy, help me!' reverberated in his ears.

His eyes flashed opened as Kate jumped back in shock. "Castle?" His eyes searched hers, wanting the answer to one question. "She's okay, Castle. Ari's safe. She's with Alexis and Brian right now."

With that, his body relaxed and he once again closed his eyes. The doctor stepped in with a nurse at that moment to check his vital signs. "He was conscious just a moment ago," she told the doctor.

"For how long?"

"Maybe 30 or 45 seconds. Once I told him that our daughter was safe, he went back to sleep."

"Regaining consciousness is a very good sign. You might want to consider getting some rest."

"I'm fine."

Eventually, Martha was able to convince her to go with her to Alexis and Brian's to grab a bite to eat and to maybe get a couple of hours of sleep. Alexis had made a pot of soup and some homemade bread, but Kate could only manage a few bites. She then noticed Ari just sitting across from her, staring blankly into space. "Ari, you should eat something."

"Where's my daddy?" Ari said, speaking the first words she'd said in over 18 hours.

"Daddy got hurt in the car accident. You can see him in a few days."

"I want my daddy! I want my daddy now!" She got up and ran from the room.

"I want your daddy too, Ari," Kate began to sob. She felt arms wrapping around her as Martha held her, both women sobbing their frustration.

"He's going to be okay," Martha tried to console her. "He's too damn tough to let Jerry Tyson beat him."

Alexis found Ariel on hers' and Brian's bed, lying on her side, still holding tight to the bedraggled white rabbit. "Ariel, daddy's going to be okay. You're just too little to see him in the hospital right now."

"He's dead," she heard her little sister whisper.

"He's what? Ariel, no. Why do you think that?"

"He's dead and everybody is afraid to tell me."

"He's not dead, Ariel. He's just hurt very badly."

"You're lying to me because mommy told you to," she turned her back on her sister.

Alexis walked back into the dining room where Brian, Kate, Martha, and Jack were still sitting. "Kate, you need to talk to her. She thinks . . . she thinks that dad is dead and we're all lying to her about it."

"She thinks what?" Kate wiped at her face. She got up and made her way into the master bedroom. "Ari?" She touched her daughter's back. "Ariel? Please turn over and talk to me."

The little girl finally rolled over and faced her mother, her blue-green eyes filled with despair. Every time Kate looked into those eyes, she wondered how that combination had come about. Everybody talked about how Ari was the perfect combination of both her and Castle. But her eyes were truly hypnotic. "I want my daddy," she whimpered.

"Baby, I know that you do," Kate smoothed her long hair back. "But, daddy's really sick right now. He has to get stronger before you can see him. Maybe you can see him in a few days."

"He's really not dead? Because he wouldn't wake up after the wreck. I called him and called him. Then . . . then—"

"Then what, Ari?"

"I want to see my daddy," she demanded once again.

***CCC***

"What're you thinking about?" Lanie noticed that Kate was deep in thought.

"Ari wanting to see Rick after the car accident. She'd talk about that non-stop, but she'd shut down the moment that she started to talk about the other stuff."

"She wanted to see their bodies," Lanie admitted.

"She . . . wait! She what?"

"You know Ariel," Lanie explained, going into the bedroom and sitting on Kate and Castle's bed. "That precinct is her second home. She wanders all over the place. I thought that you were with her. She never comes into the morgue alone."

"I must've been doing paperwork. I knew that she wasn't with me when I turned around," Kate remembered the day that Lanie was talking about. "She knows that you always have candy for her or you let her play with the microscopes." 

"She came in and asked me where that bad man and lady were. The ones who stole her. Those were her exact words. I told her that even if I still had them there, I wouldn't let her see them. She said that she hated them and she wanted to hurt them for hurting her daddy."

"I can still see Castle's face that day when I brought her up there to see him."

***CCC***

_Three days after the accident_

"Do you remember what I told you?" Kate straightened Ari's blouse and swept her long braids behind her shoulders. "Daddy has a tube in his mouth to help him breathe. The doctor said he'll probably take it out tomorrow. He's not going to be able to talk to you, but he can see you and he can feel you. He can talk to you with his eyes. Are you sure that you want to do this?"

"I want to see my daddy," the little girl declared stubbornly once again.

"You're definitely a Beckett," Kate smiled before taking the little girl's hand and leading her into the ICU cubicle.

It had almost taken an act of congress for Ari to be allowed to see her father. But Kate had told the doctors that she'd been traumatized by the accident and seeing her father hurt. She needed to see that he wasn't dead as she believed. The doctor had finally relented, allowing Kate to take Ari in for five short minutes. Kate just hoped that it was enough.

Ari sucked in her breath as they stepped up to Castle's bed. The monitors and the ventilator seemed to intimidate her for a second until she looked at her mother. "Can I touch him?" She whispered.

"You can touch his hand, but don't mess with the thing on his finger. That can't be touched," Kate whispered back.

Ari reached through the railing on the bed and put her tiny hand on top of Castle's much larger one. "Daddy? Daddy, please wake up. It's Ariel."

Castle's eyes flickered opened at the sound of the tiny voice at his side. His head turned and his eyes met hers before they looked up at Kate. "She's okay, Castle. I told you that she was."

Tears trickled down his face as he met Ariel's eyes once again before looking back up at Kate, trying to signal to her that he wanted to feel more of his daughter. As if reading his mind, Kate clicked the railing and lowered it before gently lifting Ari up. "You have to be very gentle and watch daddy's broken leg and his tummy and chest. He wants you to hug him. He wants to feel you, Ari."

Kate placed Ari at Castle's side and carefully raised his uninjured arm up so that he could cradle the little girl close to him. For the next few minutes the only sounds in the room besides the monitors was the sobbing of the woman and the child. Castle's sobs were muffled due to the ventilator. Their tearful reunion was interrupted far too soon by the sound of the doctor. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Castle, but time's up. Your daughter can come back when Mr. Castle has been moved to a regular room."

Castle's eyes met Kate's pleading with her not to take their daughter. "Rick, it's okay. When you get the ventilator taken out, you can talk with her on the phone. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Kate stepped out to where Martha was waiting with Ari. "How is he?"

"He's upset because Ari had to leave. Why don't you go in and visit with him for a few minutes?" Kate suggested.

Martha took a deep breath before walking into the ICU cubicle. She sat at his bedside and gently wiped the traces of tears on his face. His eyes opened and he focused them on her. "Richard, you have to fight harder. Kate and those babies need you to come home to them. Alexis and I need you. It's almost Christmas. Ariel's going to be fine. She inherited all of the traits of two extremely stubborn parents."

She felt him squeeze her fingers and smiled. "I love you," she stood up and kissed him.

***CCC***

Kate was exhausted. Castle had gone to the market to get some things to make his famous lasagna and a salad. Her stomach was rumbling in anticipation. The kids were upstairs playing, so she took the opportunity to finish his book. She hadn't picked it up since they'd returned from the Hamptons.

_Chapter 22: 'I wasn't released from the hospital until long after J.J.'s second birthday. While I was still in a great deal of pain and due to begin physical therapy in a matter of weeks, I was thrilled to be leaving the hospital for home. But I was surprised when I entered our home and saw that they had all elected to wait to open their Christmas presents until I came home._

_A.J. wouldn't take her eyes off of me that entire first day, but she wouldn't come near me for weeks. Kate kept telling me to give her time. I guess seeing me in the hospital was different than having me at home. I missed cuddling and playing with both kids.'_

"Why are you reading _that _book?" Kate stopped reading and found herself staring into the darkly accusing eyes of her small daughter.

"Ari, I—"

"No," Ari yanked the book from her hands. "I hate that bad man! I hate that bad lady! Why did daddy have to write about them? I want to take your gun and shoot them in the head!"

Kate looked toward the door when she heard it open and saw Castle step inside. "Ariel?"

"You wrote about them! You go on TV shows and talk about them! I just want it to go away! Why didn't you wake up? I called you and I called you!"

Jack had crept down the stairs to see what the commotion was all about. "Hey, buddy," Castle walked into the kitchen and put the bags on the counter before looking at Kate, who gave him a look that told him that the ball was firmly in his court.

"Ariel, why don't we go and take a walk?" Castle suggested.

"Why can't mommy and Jack go, too?" She asked suspiciously.

"Because Jack is too little to understand what you and I went through that night. Come on. We won't be gone long and then I'll make lasagna. Okay?"

Castle helped her with her sweater before they left the loft. Taking her hand, he led her up the street to the playground and over to the swings. "Sometimes bad things happen and there's nothing that you can do to stop them," he began to slowly push Ariel on the swing. "That night, I wanted to be a Superhero. If I had been Superman, I would've pushed that steering wheel off of my leg and I would've grabbed you back from that bad man and bad lady."

"You heard me?"

"Yeah baby, I heard you, but I had hit my head and I kept going back to sleep. But, as soon as Uncle Kevin and Uncle Javi and Auntie Victoria learned that those bad people had you, they began searching for you. They called in an Amber Alert. Do you remember when I told you what that is?"

"Yes."

"Mommy remembered your special watch and that was how they found you. They tracked the chip inside of it. That was why they let you go, Ariel. They got scared and knew that the police were about to get them."

"Is that why they blew up?"

"That's exactly why they blew up. Because they were scared. I wrote my book because I wanted the world to know how evil they were. I go on TV because a lot of people read the book. That's why they want to make it into a movie," he stopped the swing and walked around to stand in front of her. "Your mommy and I love you and Jack very much. We also love Hope very much. We will do everything that we can to protect you, your brother and your baby sister. I know that right now everything is still fresh. But, one day it'll just be a distant memory. One day you won't even think about it like you do now. There are bad people out there, Ariel. But hopefully you'll never meet any more of them yourself. I hope that you can just be a normal seven-year-old who goes to ballet and plays piano and likes Barbie's with bright purple hair," he said, making a reference to one of her dolls. "Are you okay now?"

"Did you miss me when you were in the hospital?"

"I missed you, mommy, and Jack more than the world. Do you want to know something? I saved all of your drawings that you made me."

"Really?" Her eyes lit up.

"I put them in a special book. I'll show them to you tonight when you go to bed. Come on, let's go home and make mommy lasagna because she gets grumpy when she gets hungry."

"Daddy?" She hopped off of the swing and took Castle's hand. "Mommy ate all of the peanut butter ice cream and that was my favorite."

"Then let's stop and get some more," he grinned as they began walking out of the park.

**A/N #1: This seems like a good place to end. The ice cream that Ariel is referring to is Blue Bell Peanut Butter Crunch. It has pieces of Butterfingers candy crumbled into it and it's the bomb. Blue Bell is a popular ice cream brand in South Texas. I don't know if it's available anywhere else.**

**A/N #2: Next chapter we're going to have a baby and it's going to come into the world in true Castle fashion. Meaning nothing is going to go according to plan. In a good way, not a bad one. **

**A/N #3: It was pointed out to me that there are no huge properties on Massapequa. I live in Texas, not New York. But I figured Castle's a multi-millionaire, so I wanted a property befitting that distinction. In the future, I will try to research better.**

**I can be found on Twitter Caskett1960.**


	13. Chapter 13--And Baby Makes Five

**Disclaimers: I don't own anything, but I hope to have five seasons of 'Castle' on DVD come March.**

**Summary: The Castle's move into their new home and they welcome a new addition to the family. **

**A/N #1: I was going to write one more chapter, but I think that I can wrap everything up with this chapter. Then it's back to working on 'All the Songs Make Sense.'**

Chapter 13: And Baby Makes Five

_Mid November_

It was a perfect day for a housewarming party/baby shower. Kate and Castle had moved into their new house a couple of weeks before and now that the house was decorated the way that they liked it, they threw a party for all of their friends and family. The women decided to combine the housewarming with a baby shower.

Ariel was showing Colleen her two new kittens, a gray one named Pepper and a pure white one named Salt. "I wish I could have a cat," Colleen said, holding Pepper in her lap and petting her.

"Why can't you?"

"Mommy said that daddy isn't a cat person, whatever that means. I like your room," she got up and walked over to the window. "Do you hear the church bells?"

"All of the time. It sounds pretty, but sometimes it wakes me up."

"Do you like your new school?"

"Yes. One of my new friends lives down the street. Her name is Evangeline."

"That's a funny name," Colleen made a face.

"She said her parents were 'Lost' fans. I asked her where they were lost from and she just looked at me funny. When I asked my daddy why she looked at me funny, he said that her parents named her after some old TV show."

When Ariel and Colleen joined the others outside, they could see Jack in the distance with Liam playing with a Golden Retriever puppy named Royal. "Two kittens and a puppy, detective?" Capt. Gates looked at Kate.

"Well, Castle can never tell them no," Kate smiled, her smile getting bigger when Ari and Colleen came skipping out of the house. "So, were you showing Colleen your kittens?"

"I was telling her about Evangeline. Where's my daddy?"

"I think that he's in the house with the boys watching the football game."

"When are you going to open presents?"

"As soon as we eat. Why don't you girls go play with the boys and Royal?"

"I'm going to go and find my daddy," she turned and went back into the house.

"I think that little girl is going to have a hard time sharing her daddy with another little girl," Lanie observed as Kate smiled.

"Speaking of that other little girl, you need to see what we did with Hope's room," Kate struggled to her feet and motioned for the other women to follow her.

They walked up the stairs to the sunny yellow room at the end of the hallway. There was a small placard with the name 'Hope' in pink letters hanging from the door. Kate opened the door and led the small group of women into the room. Hope's name was on the wall by the window in huge block letters. The crib, chest of drawers and dresser were all painted white with pink trim. One wall was decorated in Winnie the Pooh characters, while the opposite wall was decorated with drawings of flowers and butterflies that had been drawn and colored in by Ari and Jack. "This is darling," Capt. Gates walked around as they all admired the room.

"Martha, Alexis, and Ari did most of it. They wouldn't even let me in here until they were almost done. Castle even had an intercom installed so we don't need the baby monitor. It's also convenient to hear the children when they're up here playing."

"Not to mention to hear Castle when he's up here playing," Jenny added as they all laughed.

Down in Castle's office, the men were playing Madden on the Xbox when Ariel walked in. "Hey, Little Chica," Javi greeted her. "Do you want to play?"

"Daddy, when are we going to eat?" She asked, climbing into Castle's lap. "I'm really hungry."

"The caterers are setting up now. We should be eating in a little while."

"How do you eat anyway, Little Chica? You don't have any top teeth," Javi teased.

"Very funny," Ariel made a face, revealing two missing top teeth. "You should do stand-up."

"Nice comeback," Kevin grinned, high fiving the little girl.

Later after they'd all fixed their plates, Castle came over to sit down beside Kate at the picnic table outside. He nodded toward Ariel as he began to eat. "I think Ariel is definitely back. She effectively shot down Javier a while ago. It was a remark worthy of the name 'Beckett.'" She grinned at him.

"Well, she is half Beckett, after all. Later on, what do you say to you, me, and an all-over body massage," she bit his ear lobe, as he swallowed a groan.

"You're a hard woman to say no to," he kissed her, his tongue tracing her lips. They pulled away when they heard someone clearing their throat. Kate looked up to find her father smiling at them both.

"Hi, dad," she blushed before focusing on her plate.

"When your mother was pregnant with you in late 1979, the hard and fast rule was no sex six weeks before the due date. Well, your mother was fit to be tied."

"Do I really want to hear this story?" Kate asked.

"Well, let's just say we didn't exactly follow doctor's orders," he bit his lip as he began to eat. "When Jo went into labor, one of the questions that we were asked at the hospital was the last time we'd had sex. You should've seen Dr. Carroll's face when your mother told him it had been two hours before."

"I bet that it just about killed you to tell me that story," Kate noticed how dark her father's face had become from embarrassment.

"Katie, you have no idea. Would it be okay if the kids stayed the night at the house with me? It'll give you and Rick some alone time. I was thinking I could take them to The Plaza for Sunday Brunch tomorrow."

"Jack will probably love it. Ari's still a little shaky about being away from me and Castle for long periods of time. You'd have to ask her."

"She can bring her kittens, if that would make her feel more secure."

"Like I said, you'll have to talk it over with her."

Kate smiled when Alexis came over with Brian and they sat down beside Jim. "The food is great," Alexis said as she began to eat.

"Kind of weird combinations though," Brian added. "Mexican, Italian, Thai, and Indian. Couldn't you guys agree on what you wanted?"

"Brian, I'm nine months pregnant," Kate reminded her son-in-law. "That's what I wanted to eat today and Castle was smart enough not to argue with me." 

"Never get between a hugely pregnant woman and her food cravings," Castle warned Brian. "It's a fight that you'll never win."

"I'll remember that," Brian laughed.

Kate couldn't help seeing how wistful Alexis looked over that comment. "I need more food. Alexis, let's go see what else is out there."

"How did you know?" Alexis whispered, following Kate into the house.

"Because it was written all over your face," Kate gave Alexis a tender smile. "I felt that way when I was trying to get pregnant with Jack."

"We've been trying for three years. We've both been to the doctor and there's nothing wrong with either one of us. So why is it taking so long?"

"I think you're trying too hard. You need to relax and stop thinking about it. The moment that you stop thinking about it, I think it's going to happen."

"I hope so."

"And even if it doesn't, there are lots of ways to become a mom, Alexis. When it does happen, you're going to be awesome at it."

"Thanks, Kate," Alexis hugged her, laughing when they both felt the baby kick. "How does she still have room to do that?"

"She doesn't, but she still surprises me once in a while," Kate rubbed a bump in her side where Hope had shoved her knee.

It was a wonderful day with family and friends. They received a lot of gifts, both for the new house and for the baby. But, by nine o'clock, everybody could see that Kate was running out of steam. Her father was one of the last guests to leave, carrying Jack on his hip and holding tightly to Ariel's hand. "I'll bring them back tomorrow afternoon," Jim kissed Kate on the cheek. "Get some rest."

"I will. Thanks, dad. Have fun with Grandpa Jim," she told the two kids.

"We will," Ari hugged her mother and father.

Kate couldn't believe how drained she suddenly felt. In one afternoon it felt like Hope had dropped down into her pelvis. She took a shower while Castle locked up the house and armed the security system. When she emerged from the shower, he was ready with the cocoa butter lotion that she loved to use when she was pregnant. "My back is killing me," she complained as he massaged the lotion into her damp skin.

"Come on, I've got a cure for that," he took her hand and led her into their bedroom and onto the bed. She lay on her side as he got onto the bed behind her and began to massage her back, pressing into all of the places that always ached the most. "Is that better?"

"Press harder," she instructed as he did as he was told. "That's much better. Castle, how you would feel about being a grandpa?"

His hands instantly stopped what they were doing on Kate's back. "Is there something that you and Alexis want to tell me?"

She struggled to roll over to face her husband. "No, not yet. But, she wants a baby so badly, Castle. She's so great with Ari and Jack, so I know that she's going to be an amazing mom. And I know that you're going to be an awesome grandpa."

"It would be fun to watch our kids grow up with Alexis' kids."

He moved down to softly kiss Kate's hugely pregnant stomach, laughing when he felt Hope kick. "She's been kicking like crazy all afternoon," she grimaced, rubbing the spot on her abdomen where Hope had just kicked.

"Does it hurt?"

"It has been today," she admitted. "She's been mean today."

"Kate, I know that the last month or so has been rough with all of the kicking and the stretching, but I can't wait to see this sweet baby girl."

"Me, neither," she reached up and pulled his head down for a long, sweet kiss. "But, I've been thinking, Castle. Hope is going to be our baby."

"As in—"

"As in our baby making days are done. I think I'm getting too old to go through this again."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. I wanted to talk to you about it before, but we've both been so wrapped up with helping Ari get through the trauma of last year. Are you okay with that?"

"Well, Simon Doyle did tell us a long time ago that we'd have three kids. So, I'm perfectly okay with Hope being the baby. But, you do know what that means, don't you?" Kate looked puzzled, so he quickly continued. "Being the baby, Hope is going to be the most spoiled kid you've ever seen in your life because she can fall back on the tried and true, 'But, I'm the baby.'"

"Does that really work? We're both only children, so is Alexis and your mother."

"What about your dad?"

"I have an uncle, so I'll have to ask my dad if that ploy actually works," she yawned loudly as Castle pulled her as close to him as her belly would allow.

"I love you. Get some sleep."

"I love you, too," she kissed him one more time before curling into him and falling asleep.

It felt like only minutes later when she woke up and had to pee. Struggling to get up, she stumbled sleepily into the ensuite and turned on the light. Just as she was getting back up after relieving her bladder, she heard a 'pop' and warm liquid gushed all over the place. Amniotic fluid continued to flow out of her when she got back to her feet. But she also suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to push. "Oh, shit," she muttered to herself. "Castle!"

Castle jolted awake when he heard Kate's frantic voice. Thinking that she'd fallen in the bathroom, he jumped out of bed and raced into the room, where he found her doubled over. "Kate! Is it the baby?"

"Castle, get your cell and call 9-1-1. Tell them that we need emergency services immediately and then pray that they get here before she does."

"Are you sure?" He asked as she gave him That Look. The one that said that she was sure.

"Hurry, Castle! Because I need to push!"

He ran back into the bedroom and punched in 9-1-1. "9-1-1. Do you need police, fire, or an ambulance?" The disembodied voice on the other end asked.

"We need emergency services immediately. My wife is in labor and she says that she needs to push."

"How far along is your wife?"

"Her actual due date is in two days."

"Castle!" Kate screamed from the bathroom. "Tell them to hurry!"

"What is your name?" Castle gave the operator his name and Kate's, as well as their address. "Okay, Mr. Castle. You need to go and unlock your front door so that the EMT's can get into your home in case you can't leave your wife. Then, I want you to make sure that you have some towels handy. That's in case the baby comes before they do. Is this your first baby?"

"No, it's our third."

"Okay, do as I've instructed and then go see about your wife. Put your phone on speaker so that I can walk you through everything."

Castle disarmed the security system and unlocked the front door before returning to Kate, who was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. "Castle, she's coming like a freight train bound for hell."

"Mr. Castle, is your phone on speaker?" The operator asked.

"It is now," he put the phone on speaker and put it on the edge of the bathtub.

"Mrs. Castle, my name is Lauren. How are you doing?"

"How do you think I'm doing? I'm having a baby!"

"Okay, you're going to be okay. Try to breathe through the contractions and let's see if we can slow things down a little bit."

"She's not slowing down," Kate tugged at her soaked sleep shorts and underwear as Castle stared at her. "Come on, Castle, it's not like you haven't seen my _stuff_ before. Oh, shit. She's coming! Castle, help me!"

Castle snapped into action when he saw how scared Kate was. Even though she'd given birth before, both times had been in a controlled environment. There was nothing controlled about giving birth on your bathroom floor. He grabbed some towels and took his place at Kate's feet, gently nudging her legs apart. That was when he saw a circle of dark hair struggling to emerge. "I see hair," he announced.

"Castle, I can't do this. She has to wait for EMT's."

"Kate, she isn't going to wait. Come on, baby, you can do this. Take a deep breath and let's do this," he gave her an encouraging smile.

Kate took a deep breath and brought her chin down to her chest, like she remembered doing with Ari. She felt like she was being ripped apart, but she felt like progress was being made.

"How's she doing, Mr. Castle?" Lauren asked.

"The head's coming out now."

"Okay, that's the hardest part. As soon as she delivers her head, take a towel and wipe the baby's face. You might have to clear the mouth and nose with your fingers. Since this isn't your first baby, the rest of the baby should deliver pretty quickly. Don't worry about the cord. The EMT's are about five minutes out. They'll take care of all of that when they get there. Is your front door unlocked?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I'll let them know."

"Castle, shut up!" Kate screamed at him. "Is she out, yet?"

"Almost, Kate. One more push. Come on, you can do this!"

Kate screamed when she finally felt the rest of Hope's head emerge from her body. She burst into tears when she heard a loud, wailing cry. Castle quickly did as Lauren had instructed as the rest of Hope's body slithered into his hands. Kate lay back in exhaustion as Castle held up their newborn daughter, all wet and covered in gunk. "Mr. Castle, clean the baby up the best you can and hand it to the mother, if the cord will allow you to. Sometimes the cord is too short. What do you have?"

"A girl," Castle was crying as he rubbed the baby down as she screamed in protest.

"EMT's are on the scene now," she said just as they heard footsteps entering the house. "Congratulations. I'm going to let them take over now."

"Thank you, Lauren," Castle handed baby Hope to Kate who held her tightly to her chest. "We did it, Kate."

"How are we doing?" One of the EMT's asked as they entered the bathroom.

"I just gave birth. How do you think I'm doing?" Kate winced as one of the EMT's helped with the placenta that she'd just delivered and began massaging her uterus as she groaned.

"Sorry, I know that doesn't feel too good. We need to get your uterus to contract. We'll clamp the cord, but they'll cut it at the hospital. Are you ready to go?"

"Castle, thank you," she kissed him. "You were great."

"I'm going to clean up and then I'll meet you at the hospital."

"Okay. I love you,"

"I love you, too," he kissed her and got out of the way when one of the EMT's brought a gurney in. "I'll see you soon."

***CCC***

At the hospital, they paged Dr. Caldwell and the attending ER doctor cut the baby's cord as Kate reluctantly relinquished control of her so that she could be weighed and measured. "How long were you in labor?" He asked.

"It felt like about 15 minutes. I got up to pee and everything happened really fast after that. I never imagined that I'd have a birth straight out of a Danielle Steel novel. So, tell me about my daughter."

"Six pounds, nine ounces and 22 inches long. She's a very long baby."

"So was I. But, she's okay?"

"She's perfect. We need to take her to the nursery to assess her for sure, but from what I see so far, she's a perfectly normal, healthy newborn. Let us take her and give her the once over and we'll bring her right back to you."

They were walking out with Hope when Dr. Caldwell walked in. "You do nothing by convention, do you, Kate?"

"Hey, I wasn't planning on a home birth. Hope had other ideas."

"So, how did your midwife do?"

"Oh, he was great," Kate smiled. "He should be here soon."

As if on cue, Castle walked into the room. He had changed into a pair of slacks and a dark blue shirt. "I called everybody before I came up here. Will she have to stay?" He asked Dr. Caldwell.

"Probably not. We'll keep her here for a few hours to make sure she doesn't start running a fever. If she's okay after six hours, I'll release her and the baby. So, you got a crash course on childbirth."

"Well, I remembered most of it from Ariel, but its different catching that baby yourself. She was a little like holding onto a fish," he made a face.

"Hey Castle, that's your daughter you're talking about," Kate told him.

"You're right though, they are slippery little suckers when they come out," the doctor laughed.

Half an hour later, a nurse walked in carrying a bundle in a pink blanket. By now, Kate's bed had been cranked up and she anxiously held her arms out for the baby. "Are you planning on nursing?" The nurse asked, placing the warm bundle in Kate's arms.

"Oh, yeah," she lowered her hospital gown when she felt Hope rooting around. She gasped at the first contact of tiny lips on her nipple.

"Well, we've got one who looks like me, one who is a combination of both of us and now we've got one that looks like you," Castle stroked the light brown hair on Hope's head.

"I'm so glad that you were there," she leaned against him as they both watched the baby nursing. "I didn't think it was going to be that fast."

"Forty-seven minutes," he told her.

"What?"

"From the time you screamed for me until she was born, it was 47 minutes. I ran into one of the EMT's when I got here. He said even if we'd left the second that you called out for me, we wouldn't have made it. Hope wanted to give her mommy an early birthday present."

"I hope she isn't this rushed for everything. We'll never be able to keep up with her. Here, you take her ," she removed the baby from her breast and handed her over to the proud father.

Leaning into him and watching him admire their newborn daughter; Kate couldn't help but think once again how sexy fatherhood looked on her husband. His hands were huge as they gently cradled the miracle in them. She knew that father and daughter were going to have a very special bond since he was the one who'd helped to bring her into the world. She decided that Hope was a very special way to complete their family.

Fin

**A/N #2: I had to incorporate the number '47' in there somehow.**

**A/N #3: I am a 'Lost' fan, but only up to early Season 4. I have all six seasons, but have yet to finish watching. **

**I can be found on Twitter Caskett1960. Please read and review.**


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